Ford Motor Company

About: Ford Motor Company is a company organization based out in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Internal combustion engine & Clutch. The organization has 36123 authors who have published 51450 publications receiving 855200 citations. The organization is also known as: Ford Motor & Ford Motor Corporation.

Product modularity: measures and design methods

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of existing research on measures of product modularity and methods to achieve modularity in product design Discussions of the development of modular products have increased in recent years The research activity into the development of modularity measures and methods has also increased These measures and methods vary considerably in purpose and process Some are highly quantitative and some are completely qualitative Some are information intensive and some are more easily applied The relationship to product platform planning is also shown This overview shows no clear consensus beyond those found in the definition of modularity There are, however, several themes that are prevalent Most measures center on measuring dependencies with components external to modules Some measures include a measure of component similarity However, what is measured as dependencies and similarities varies by measure and by context Additionally, there is always some subjectivity in the mea

First-principles study of binary bcc alloys using special quasirandom structures

Abstract: We present three 16-atom special quasirandom structures (SQS's) for ${\mathrm{A}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{B}}_{x}$ bcc substitutional alloys at compositions $x=0.25$, 0.50 and 0.75, respectively. The structures possess local pair and multisite correlation functions that mimic those of the corresponding random bcc alloy. The introduction of these SQS's allows for the possibility of first-principles calculations of bcc solid solutions, even those with significant size-mismatch or atomic relaxation. We have tested our SQS's via first-principles calculations in the Mo--Nb, Ta--W and Cr--Fe systems, in which the bcc solid solution is observed to be stable over the whole composition range. Our first-principles SQS results provide formation enthalpies, equilibrium lattice parameters and magnetic moments of these bcc alloys which agree satisfactorily with most existing experimental data in the literature. In an effort to understand the atomic relaxation behavior in bcc solid solutions, we have also investigated the nearest neighbor bond length distributions in the random bcc alloys. The proposed bcc SQS's are quite general and can be applied to other binary bcc alloys.

Current issues and problems in laser welding of automotive aluminium alloys

Abstract: The automotive industry is facing demands simultaneously to increase its fleet average fuel economy and to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by its products. In order to meet these new standards, the industry is increasingly aiming to decrease the weight of vehicles through the use of new materials, especially lightweight aluminium alloys. Laser welding is a critical enabling technology in reducing the weight of the body structure through increased use of aluminium and tailor welded blanks. In this review the available research on the laser welding of 5xxx, 6xxx, and some 2xxx series automotive aluminium alloys is critically examined and interpreted from different perspectives. First, the current understanding of the important physical processes occurring during laser welding of these alloys such as energy absorption, fluid flow and heat transfer in the weld pool, and alloying element vaporisation are examined. Second, the structure and properties of these weldments are critically evaluated....