Article citation information:
Bazhinov, O., Kravtsov,
M., Bazhynova, T., Haiek, Y., Kharchenko, S., Shchur, T., Markowska, K., Sękala,
A., Stecuła, K., Kawka, T., Siudyka, E. Determination
of the quality index of cars. Scientific
Journal of Silesian University of Technology. Series Transport. 2023, 118, 17-28. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2023.118.2.
Oleksiy BAZHINOV[1],
Mikhail KRAVTSOV[2],
Tetiana BAZHYNOVA[3],
Yevhen HAIEK[4],
Serhii KHARCHENKO[5],
Taras SHCHUR[6],
Katarzyna MARKOWSKA[7],
Agnieszka SĘKALA[8],
Kinga STECUŁA[9],
Tomasz KAWKA[10],
Ewa SIUDYKA[11]
DETERMINATION OF THE QUALITY INDEX OF CARS
Summary. This article
presents theoretical studies of methods for assessing car quality indicators in
the operation stage. Important criteria for determining the quality indicators
of cars during the operation phase are the following: functional stability,
ecology, comfort, technical solutions, and traffic safety. The problem of
converting a multicriteria quality assessment to a single criterion is proposed
to be solved by the method of determining a quality index. The methodology for
the practical and actual implementation of this research is based on the
evaluation of the quality index established on the average vehicle speed then
the basic methodological principles are formulated. The quality index of a car
is significantly dependent on the operating conditions. This article presents
the correction coefficients for the quality index of base, hybrid, and electric
vehicles, depending on the operating conditions. The studies and the proposed
car quality index provide timely information on the characteristics of
operating conditions, creating the necessary conditions and opportunities for
automakers to improve the design of cars, promote the image of car brands, and
increase sales.
Keywords: car,
electric car, hybrid car, quality, method, technique
1. INTRODUCTION
To date, the choice of a car is
complicated by the fact that it is carried out in conditions of a lack of
information by the closure of operational failures by service enterprises; the
limited and, to a large extent, advertising nature provided by manufacturers;
the lack of a centralized bank containing objective information on the actual
indicators of technical and operational properties of cars; the complexity of
comparing information obtained from various sources, etc. It should be borne in mind that cars
with specific purposes have different properties depending on the external
conditions in which they are used [1-5].
The presence of specific properties of cars
allows them to be used in conditions where the use of a different car model is
less appropriate. The determination of the technical
and operational properties and quality of automobiles as a whole allows
choosing the one that best suits the user's requirements for these operating
conditions and makes it possible to develop optimal methods for supporting the
operation of the properties inherent in the design and manufacture of
automobiles [6]. This context is especially important when choosing or
purchasing a car for operation in Ukraine [7].
One of the major causes for the low
vehicle competition in Ukraine is the lack of high-quality made-in-Ukraine
vehicles. Car quality depends on several different indicators that
describe not only the weight and overall parameters but also performance,
reliability, fuel economy, maneuverability, safety, cost, etc. Therefore, the issue of evaluating and selecting a car during
the operation phase by its user is not fully solved, justifying the relevance
of the research topic [8-11].
The purpose of this work is to increase the
efficiency of evaluating car quality indicators by quantifying them at the
operational stage.
From an analysis of sources from the
literature, it was established that the current state of the market and the
updating of the structure of passenger cars at the operational stage require an
integrated approach to the assessment of quality indicators with the goal of a
better alternative [12-13,
27]. For the degree of compliance of passenger cars
with operating conditions and consumer expectations, it is necessary to
consider the large list of technical and operational properties displayed by
the totality and quality of parameters. A review of
existing studies on the analysis of methods for assessing the quality of
automobiles was carried out, although it does not allow full objective
consideration of the totality of indicators that require their improvement [14, 26, 30].
2. RESEARCH AND METHODS OF THE QUALITY INDEX
RESULTS
The object of this research is the process of determining the quality indicators of cars at
the operational stage.
The solution to
the task is provided by the use of a systematic approach and a rational
combination of theoretical and experimental studies, generalization and
analysis of known scientific results, as well as the use of mathematical modeling, and mathematical statistics of
the first developed special techniques. Road test methods were applied to assess the
quality parameters of passenger cars. An urgent
scientific and applied problem was
solved, creating
conditions for the efficient use of vehicles by improving the method for
assessing the quality indicators of vehicles at the operational stage.
To
evaluate the car quality index, performance indicators were studied and developed in this research. Important criteria for determining
the quality indicators of cars during the operation phase are the following:
functional stability, ecology, comfort, technical solutions, and traffic
safety. The quality of
the car, considering
its level of functional stability and energy intensity during the operation
phase, is evaluated from the position of the frequency of technical impacts,
energy consumption and the cost of maintenance and repair. A criterion that
evaluates the functional stability of quality indicators is as follows:
- base
car
-
hybrid car
-
electric car
where:
Nmax – maximum engine power,
kW;
gemin
– minimum value of specific fuel consumption, g/kW • h;
СТ – the cost of one liter of fuel, UAH;
LGVM – guaranteed vehicle mileage, km;
Саuth
– the cost of a new car, UAH;
ρT
– specific gravity of fuel, kg/l;
Vа – speed, km/h;
EАCB – battery capacity, kW • h;
Сc – the cost of one kW • h, UAH;
Le – electric range, km;
Vmax – maximum speed, km/h.
From the equations described above, it follows that for a given car, the
criterion of functional stability of the quality assessment indicators will not
achieve a constant value.
During the dynamic growth of the intensely
competitive automobile market, the level of comfort of a driver and passengers
is continuously increasing. The reason for this may be an improvement of
the car design, which includes not only the dimensions of the passenger
compartment, trunk, wheel path, and wheelbase but also the noise and
temperature in the passenger compartment. So, the criterion of indicators
of the quality of comfort can be determined from the following equation:
where:
Lb, Lw –
the base and track of the wheels of the car, respectively, m;
KK – coefficient
considering the availability of air conditioning, KK = 0.9,
coefficient considering the climate
control, KK = 0.8;
Yn – noise level in
the cabin when driving a car, Yn = z+ζ⋅Va- for vehicles with engine z = 40 db, and for electric vehicles
and hybrid z = 30 db, constant coefficient ζ = 022 db· year/km.
Figure 1 shows the change in the criteria for
assessing the quality of the functional stability (KK) and the comfort (KC)
for a base car, a hybrid and an electric car,
based on the average speed.
Fig. 1. Change
of the functional stability (KK) and the comfort (KC)
criteria for a base car, a hybrid and an electric car depending on the speed,
where: 1 – Lanos
Sens;
2 – Mitsubishi Lancer; 3 – Chevrolet Aveo; 4 – Toyota Prius;
5 – Nissan Leaf
The
environmental safety of vehicles can be evaluated by comprehensively analyzing
several technical and economic issues, including the laws governing the
formation of toxic and carcinogenic substances, technogenic atmosphere
pollution, fuel and environmental performance of engine studies, and many
others. The total
toxicity criterion can be defined as a multidimensional vector that is hard to
express in a single number. Therefore, assessing the environmental safety
quality of a car can be greatly simplified if nitric oxide (NOx) of 0.06 g/km
for the gasoline engine and 0.08 g/km for the diesel engine is taken as the
base standard of the standard (Euro 6), and fuel consumption is taken as
minimal. Then, the calculated expressions for
determining the quality of environmental safety can be expressed both for cars
with an internal combustion engine (ICE) (7) and hybrid cars (8):
where:
KNOx
– permissible norm of nitric oxide according to the standard (Euro-6),
g/km;
where
Nе – electric motor power, kW;
Nmax – engine power, kW.
Car safety
depends on braking qualities, dimensions, and the presence of additional
factors that provide safe working conditions for the driver. The braking coefficient is adopted as a general indicator
of active safety, and the number of stars obtained in the EuroNCAP safety
rating provided by the European Passive Safety Test Program for production
passenger cars, which is accepted as passive safety. Therefore,
the criterion for evaluating indicators of traffic safety quality can be
determined by the following equation:
where:
ns –
the number of stars
obtained in the estimated crash test rating;
ST – stopping distance at a speed of 100
km/h, m;
STmin – the smallest stopping
distance among all tested cars, m.
The quality criterion for technical solutions
is determined based on analysis concerning the indicators’ values on
analogues that reflect the highest global trends in their development. The indicators values for assessing the technical solutions quality of a
car consist of the following: fuel consumption, car mass, acceleration time to
100 km/h, and maximum speed.
The change in the criterion for
assessing the quality indicators of technical solutions (KT) and the
criterion for the safety of vehicle traffic (KC) are shown in Figure
2.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fig. 2. Change in the criterion of
car traffic safety and technical solutions quality for
car brands
The criterion for assessing the
quality indicators of technical solutions for base cars and hybrids is defined
as:
for electric vehicles
where:
Gа – car mass, kg;
tp – acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h.
The problem of turning a multicriteria quality assessment problem into a
single criterion one can be solved by forming an integral indicator method [15,
16. 25].
-
base
car
where:
- hybrid car
where:
- electric car
where:
This article proposes and discusses new
opportunities to increase the efficiency of car use based on the obtained
results of this study on the method to evaluate quality indicators at the
operation stage. The
proposed methodology for the actual and practical implementation of this study
is based on the assessment of the quality indicators of the car. Cars operating
at an average speed were evaluated based on the following criteria: traffic
safety, technical solutions, environmental friendliness, comfort, and
functional stability. Furthermore, this paper presents the formulation of basic
methodological principles for research [17-21, 29].
Fig.
3. Change in the criterion of car traffic safety and the criterion of quality
of technical solutions for car brands, where: 1 – Chevrolet Aveo; 2
– Toyota Prius; 3 – Nissan Leaf;
4 – Mitsubishi Lancer
The
integral criterion for the evaluation of vehicle quality indicators
substantially depends on the conditions of operation. Table 1 shows the
correction factors (coefficients) of the integral criterion for the base,
hybrid, and electric vehicles with average vehicle speeds, depending on the
conditions of operation.
Tab.
1
|
Group of
operating conditions |
Average
vehicle speed |
Integral indicator of car quality |
||
|
base car |
hybrid car |
electric
car |
||
|
I |
100 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
|
II |
80 |
1.10 |
0.95 |
1.00 |
|
III |
60 |
1.40 |
0.90 |
0.95 |
|
IV |
30 |
1.50 |
1.00 |
1.05 |
|
V |
20 |
2.25 |
1.40 |
1.60 |
Movement speed influences the
integral criterion for evaluating automobile quality indicators the most. As
the speed increases from 20 to 100 km/h, the integral criterion decreases for
base cars by more than two times, and for hybrid and electric vehicles, it
decreases by 1.5-1.6 times. Therefore, the problem of
increasing the speed of cars should be central. Speed can be perceived as a
reserve that can lead to a significant increase in the performance rating of
cars.
The next stage of this research
included an integral assessment
of quality and competitiveness indicators. This assessment was conducted based
on the mathematical approach and model described in [22-24, 27-28]. The best
alternative (passenger car) must meet the minimum value of the integral quality
criterion. Then, the study needed the stage of modeling and calculating to get
the results. From this part of the analysis, it was
possible to determine the quality indicators for each criterion for the studied
base, hybrid, and electric vehicles. Another
achievement of this study was a general integrated evaluation of the
cars’ quality – the results are presented in Table 2 and Figure 4.
Figure 4
shows by what sets of indicators electric and hybrid cars surpass basic cars.
Tab.
2
Results of the integrated assessment of quality indicators
|
No |
Name of
criteria |
Designation |
Automobile
model |
||
|
Chevrolet Aveo |
Nissan Leaf |
Toyota Prius |
|||
|
1 |
Functional stability |
KQ |
0.45 |
0.25 |
0.40 |
|
2 |
Traffic safety |
KS |
0.75 |
0.46 |
0.49 |
|
3 |
Environmental friendliness |
Ke |
0.75 |
- |
0.50 |
|
4 |
Comfort |
KK |
0.70 |
0.54 |
0.54 |
|
5 |
Technical solutions |
KT |
0.31 |
0.03 |
0.15 |
|
6 |
Integral criterion |
KI |
2.96 |
1.28 |
2.08 |
1
– Chevrolet Aveo; 2 – Toyota Prius; 3 – Nissan Leaf
Fig.
4. Change in the integral indicator of quality from the average speed for vehicle
models
3. DISCUSSION
The problem of converting a multicriteria quality assessment problem into a
single-criteria one is solved by the method of forming an integral indicator.
We get: the smaller the integral criterion, the higher the quality of the
passenger car. Therefore, the mathematical model of the integral criterion for
evaluating the quality of cars based on the average speed is compiled for base
cars, hybrid and electric vehicles.
The integral criterion for evaluating car quality indicators significantly
depends on the conditions of operation. The coefficients of correction of the
integral criterion for the basic, hybrid and electric vehicles are given based on the operating conditions. The speed of
movement has the greatest influence on the integral criterion for assessing the
quality indicators of cars. Therefore, the problem of
increasing the speed of movement for cars needs deserves special attention. Speed is a reserve that can
significantly increase the characteristics of the evaluation of the property of
cars.
The following principles and methods have been substantiated and developed:
systemic selection and quality indicators, their comparison and measurement at
a differentiated level,
that is, the formation of an
integral criterion for assessing the quality and competitiveness of a car.
The performed
studies and proposed methods for assessing the quality make it possible to
obtain operational information about the features of operation in Ukraine,
based on which, for manufacturers of automotive equipment, the necessary
conditions and opportunities are created aimed at improving the design of cars,
boosting the image of the car
brand, and increasing sales.
The practical implementation of the
results obtained in the process of conducting this research provides the
following main opportunities and conditions for:
4. CONCLUSION
This
article provided and developed the scientific foundations of an urgent and
vital techno-scientific problem by creating and presenting the research and
methodological apparatus to evaluate the quality of cars. The
developed apparatus is the basis for the conception of determining the
relationships and developing the mathematical models and methods for assessing
and ensuring quality at the operation stage.
With an increase in the average vehicle speed, there is an increase in
the comfort criterion for all types of cars by 1.6-2 times; furthermore, the criterion for assessing the environmental safety of
base cars decreases by 9-11 times, and hybrid cars increase by 8-10 times. At the maximum average speed, the
criteria for assessing the environmental safety of basic and hybrid cars are
level. The criterion for assessing the functional
stability of basic, hybrid and electric vehicles with an increase in average
speed decreases by 10-11 times. However, it should
be noted that the criterion for evaluating the quality of functional stability
of base cars is 1.3-1.5 times more than hybrid cars and 1.8-2.0 times more than
electric vehicles.
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Received 20.09.2022; accepted in
revised form 17.11.2022
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[1] Kharkiv National Automobile and
Highway University, Yaroslava Mudrogo 25 Street, 61002
Kharkiv, Ukraine. Email: alexey.bazhinov@gmail.com. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5755-8553
[2] Kharkiv National Automobile and
Highway University, Yaroslava Mudrogo 25 Street, 61002
Kharkiv, Ukraine. Email: super-mikvich@ukr.net. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3218-2182
[3] Kharkiv Petro Vasylenko National
Technical University of Agriculture, Alchevskyh 44 Street,
61002, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Email: bazhynova28@ukr.net. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3003-4028
[4] Kharkiv Petro Vasylenko National
Technical University of Agriculture, Alchevskyh 44 Street,
61002, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Email: gaekevgen@gmail.com. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7470-9918
[5] Poltava State Agrarian University, Skovorody 1/3 Street, 36003 Poltava, Ukraine. Email:
kharchenko_mtf@ukr.net. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4883-2565
[6] GVA
Lighting, Inc, Oakville, Ontario L6H 6X5, Canada. Email:
shchurtg@gmail.com. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0205-032X
[7] Faculty of Transport and Aviation
Engineering, The Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8 Street,
40-019 Katowice, Poland. Email: katarzyna.markowska@polsl.pl.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2184-1995
[8] Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18A, Street, 44-100 Gliwice,
Poland. Email: agnieszka.sekala@polsl.pl. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2776-7335
[9] Faculty of Organization and
Management, Silesian University of Technology, Roosevelta 26 Street, 41-800
Zabrze, Poland. Email: kinga.stecula@polsl.pl. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6271-2746
[10] Faculty of Transport and Aviation
Engineering, The Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8 Street,
40-019 Katowice, Poland. Email: tomasz.kawka@polsl.pl.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9919-2043
[11] Faculty of Applied Sciences, WSB
University, Cieplaka 1c Street, 41-300 Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland.
Email: esiudyka@wsb.edu.pl. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7690-1276