Durability Test Lab Development

With the advances in BEVs, Autonomous Vehicle technologies, and CAE, the conditions are perfect for automotive start-ups. New companies are on a fast-track to develop automotive products to compete in this new space. However, while the EV powertrain is much less complex, the challenges of building a safe, durable and reliable chassis that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture are still there. Product validation is critical. While there are contract test facilities and tier one component suppliers that can help to bootstrap development, automotive companies ultimately need their own facility to short-circuit design iterations, while keeping intellectual property and industrial secrets contained within a manageable audience. It is therefore necessary to build a corporate structural durability test lab. Equipment suppliers such as www.mts.com and www.bia.fr can help with the design and make recommendations, however, unlike Re:Test they always have more of an interest in selling the equipment they provide, and moreover, they do not have a civil engineering staff that can work directly with your architects to create PE stamped construction drawings for your lab infrastructure.

Following are some ideas related to facility design:

Seismic Mass

Road simulators, dynamometers and component fatigue bed plates should be mounted on seismic masses to prevent vibrations from entering your building. There are three basic designs for these masses:

• Airbags. These provide excellent isolation from the building. The mass is easy to design, but they are very expensive, they have a natural frequency close to the wheel-to-body motion of the vehicle, and it's necessary to design restraints in areas prone to earthquakes.
• Soil-Coupled. This is generally the best solution provided the soil can support the mass and is above the water table. The natural frequency is higher, but soil has excellent damping properties. These masses take more engineering time, but are less expensive to build
• Pile-Coupled. In cases where the soil properties are poor, another solution is to use piles. Piles don't have as much damping as pure soil because the interaction with the soil is in shear. However there are cases where piles are a better solution than air bags

Hydraulic Power Supply

Another decision to make is whether to have a centralized hydraulic power supply (HPS), or dedicate individual HPSs for each test area. With submerged pump technology, it is now possible to put a relatively large HPS in the test cell and run short lines to the actuators. If a central HPS is built, it becomes less important to use submerged pump technology, which can be more expensive and more difficult to service. With a centralized system, a system of pipes and trenches need to be designed to distribute the oil to the various test areas.

Control Rooms

In certain cases, it makes sense to build a control room so that operators can view and setup tests without being in harms way. Care must be taken to design the climate controlled control room with a clear view of the test, and easy access to the test cell, while keeping control cables well hidden. You will also need to be able to easily run instrumentation cables while keeping them from being trip hazards. Power to the control room should be clean and uninterrupted, and it is very important to have an excellent electrical ground source.

Cranes

In most cases it is important to have a gantry crane that can lift the heaviest equipment or test specimen. Fork lifts can be difficult and dangerous to use. If the pump room is remotely located, we recommend a chain hoist hoist dedicated to the HPS for maintenance purposes. It is not unusual for the need to lift a pump-motor assembly for service.

Cooling and Compressed Air

In most climates, you can use a cooling tower. However in hot climates it may be necessary to use a chiller. Don't forget to include compressed air for cooling shock absorbers, supplying air bags, and air tools.

These are just a few examples of things to think about when designing a new test lab. This list is definitely not complete. If you need help, try contacting https://re-test.com