Ford to build super wind tunnel complex
State-of-art rolling wind tunnel and climatic chamber planned
Consumers’ appetite for vehicles with greater fuel efficiency and performance has led Ford to invest in a new aerodynamic testing complex that will house a next-generation rolling road wind tunnel and stateof-the-art climatic chamber.
The new facility will come complete with testing advancements that better match the technological development of Ford products – both production vehicles and racing vehicles.
The new wind tunnel complex will sit on 13 acres next to Ford’s current Driveability Test Facility in Allen Park, Michigan.
The complex will house new innovative technology that delivers state-of-the-art real-world driving simulations to advance improvements in fuel economy. Construction starts this year. Ford’s new wind tunnel complex better positions its engineers to conduct testing that proves out advancements in vehicle design.
A new five-belt conveyor system can replicate real-world drag through a rolling road aerodynamic tunnel that enables Ford to bring the road to the vehicle, rather than the vehicle to the road.
To test for optimal fuel efficiency, each wheel gets its own belt.
The massive fifth belt runs under the center of the vehicle, allowing airflow around the entire vehicle at speeds up to 155 mph.
As a part of the rolling road belt cartridge system, a crane will be used to switch between the five belt and single belt systems – an industrial-sized plug-and-play approach bringing two testing methods into one.
The single belt – which operates at up to 200 mph – opens up a new breed of testing for high-speed performance and racing vehicles.
The climatic chamber can get as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, colder than the Arctic, and as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the Sahara.