Truck testing globally…. at home
HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE TRANSMISSION giant Allison is testing its new gearboxes – and the trucks of partners and customers – in some of the world’s most extreme conditions.
It’s putting them to work in the equivalent of places like Khardung La, an Indian/Tibetan region with one of the world’s highest roads (at 5600 metres).
And running them in the kind of temperatures only encountered in one of the 10 hottest places on earth – namely 51 degrees Celsius or higher.
On the other hand, it’s also running trucks in icy cold temperatures endured in the likes of Oymiakon – a tiny village in Central Siberia – supposedly the world’s coldest town. There, as an Aussie 60Minutes reporter recounted: “The locals say it’s truly cold when it dips below minus-50 (yep, that’s degrees Fahrenheit) – when blood stops flowing to exposed skin and frostbite sets in.”
To be honest, in true COVID-19 lockdown style, Allison’s
virtually going to the likes of these places….while staying right at home, at its global base in Indianapolis.
That’s possible thanks to its just-opened Vehicle Environmental Test Centre – a s tate-of-the-art, industryleading operation able to replicate the worst environments the world can throw at trucks…..along with virtually any gradient or load.
The 5574-square-metre facility houses a hot soak chamber, a cold soak chamber and two chassis dynoequipped environmental chambers.
It’s capable of simulating a broad range of duty cycles and environmental conditions from -47 degrees Celsius (-54 Fahrenheit) to 51C (125F). It can replicate operating at altitudes up to 5486 metres (18,000 feet)…and simulate grades and other onroad conditions.
The company says that VET will get rid of a bottleneck in the trucking industry’s ever-accelerating speed of innovation and product development – namely the time it takes to test vehicles and components in real-world situations.
The centre, it adds, allows immediate evaluation and responses to issues that arise – “under controlled conditions that ensure the desired operating environments can be isolated, tested and replicated real time.”
Or, as Allison’s MD of engineering services Jeanne Rues tells US website HeavyDutyTrucking: “We’re bringing the
chaos of the real world into the laboratory – so we can generate reliable and repeatable test results.”
The transmission manufacturer’s VP sales for North America, Rohan Barua adds: “If you don’t have to wait for the summer and winter and high altitude, you can compress the seasons to a few months instead of 12.”
Says Allison: “Customers are now facing increasing system complexity, expanding regulatory requirements and higher demand for ever-faster time-to-market requirements.
“Allison has you covered: The VET’s one-stop chassis testing can shorten your product development cycles dramatically, facilitating efficiency and ultimately cutting down the costs of bringing your product to market.
“The VET provides vehicle system development and validation in repeatable, reliable and seasonally independent conditions to get the test results you require.”
Adds Rues: “We are excited to have this facility that will provide our customers and partners enhanced capabilities to conduct full-vehicle testing by replicating environments and duty cycles all in one centralised location – allowing them to bring new and innovative technology and vehicle systems to market faster and more efficiently.
“For players in our industry this translates into a competitive advantage, as innovation drives the industry forward.”
The facility, Allison senior VP of product engineering and programme management Randy Kirk adds, “will facilitate rapid product development for conventional, alternative fuel and electric vehicles, providing Allison and our customers an efficient and effective tool for nextgeneration innovation and collaboration.”
The VET is capable of accommodating most commercial on-highway, off-highway and wheeled defence vehicle applications, Allison says.
And it can test a wide range of propulsion systems, including conventional diesel powertrains, alternative fuel, electric hybrid, fully electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
The centre is unique in that it is available for use by other companies – be they OEMs, body builders, component suppliers or end-users – “to satisf y their vehicle testing needs in a single, environment-controlled location.”
Apart from vehicle and system performance testing, development and validation, the centre can be used for product troubleshooting, ensuring regulatory compliance and measuring and improving fuel economy.
Allison director, president and CEO David S. Graziosi says that “Allison’s over-riding mission is to improve the way the world works” – and the new centre contributes to that.
The VET’s capability to test electric vehicles is clearly important to Allison, which is also a large-scale supplier