As you’ll probably agree, the tracks at Aubevoye are full of surprises. But, while dynamic tests are essential to verify behaviour on the road, static tests are vital during new vehicle design phases. Several buildings in the middle of the CTA house contraptions we never imagine existed. Here’s a quick overview of the fine-tuning during each model’s development process.
Plotters, computers and other developments that have maked their time
We quite logically asked how tests were carried out before computers and calculation software. Jean-Marc, a test methods expert at Aubevoye had the answer:
Long gone are the days when plotting tables were used to record test parameters on the first CTA chassis dynamometers! But the goal has not changed: to offer customers the lowest consumption without sacrificing performance. However, test facilities have continually evolved to meet increasingly stringent regulations and technological developments: hybrid, electric and hydrogen engines, etc. Hundreds of parameters are now measured to analyse and optimize vehicle performance
In 40 years, computers have also replaced magnetic tapes to record sounds. Today, they measure everything. Even silence. They check the quality of the acoustics inside the passenger compartment and outside it, to treat customers to optimal comfort inside and to meet the various regulatory requirements outside. Electromagnetic waves are also quantified in strange “anechoic” and “semi-anechoic” chambers in the Electromagnetic Compatibility lab built in 2005. The sound chamber, radio-frequency chamber, chamber to measure electromagnetic emissions from the vehicle’s electronics without external interference and chamber to test the vehicle’s electromagnetic resistance are a few of the latest new features that help to avoid electromagnetic disruptions and check that the increasingly complex connected features in vehicles work well.