Automobiles are mechanical machines with four wheels and are used for transportation. Most definitions of automobiles say that they run on roads and seat one to eight people. They are also powered by engines and primarily use electricity to move. In addition, most cars are designed to be environmentally friendly and safe. The impact of automobiles on society is immense.
Basic systems
Automobiles are made up of many different systems, each with its own function. These systems interact with one another and are responsible for the performance of the automobile. A vehicle’s engine is perhaps the most important part of its system, but there are many other components that are crucial to the vehicle’s function.
The major systems of an automobile are the engine, the transmission system, and the auxiliary systems. The engine consists of the internal combustion engine, which moves the car forward. The transmission system includes components such as a clutch assembly, gearbox, and propeller shaft. Other important parts include the tires, steering mechanism, and brakes.
Impact on environment
Automobiles have a wide range of effects on the environment. The most common causes of this damage include the production and use of fuel, which consumes vast quantities of raw materials. Additionally, automobiles emit a significant amount of air pollution. The most significant portion of these emissions come from the burning of gasoline. In the United States, almost all automobiles run on gas, and only a small percentage use diesel fuel. While some regions have begun to experiment with alternative fuels, these are not readily available to most motorists. Additionally, cars emit a lot of hazardous pollutants, including lead and acid.
Automobiles also pollute waterways in several ways, including through the discharge of oil and vehicle fluids, as well as from the improper disposal of motor oil. In addition to this, automobiles continue to impact the environment even when they are not being driven. In the United States, hundreds of millions of tires are disposed of each year. Moreover, automobiles take up about 13,000 square miles of land, including 4,000 square kilometers of urban highways.
Safety design
The design of automobiles is an important part of protecting passengers. Automobiles must be designed to reduce the risk of injury during a crash. In the United States, for instance, automobiles must have a seat belt. The design of a seat must support a person’s head and neck during a crash and must be at least 2.5 inches high. In addition, vehicles must meet the requirements for automatic crash protection, including dynamic tests.
Many modern automobiles use resistance spot welds to join sheet metal parts. A modern car contains around 2000 to 5000 spot welds. As such, the strength of these welds is a major concern during crash analyses. To determine the strength of a spot weld, it is investigated using cross tensile and lap shear tests. These test data are then used to generate an explicit FE-code for the spot weld. The failure criteria parameters can be used to predict the load on the weld when the vehicle is in a crash.