Feature: Automotive
Demanding vehicle road tests require high-performing sensors
By Glenn Wedgbrow, Business Development Manager, Micro-Epsilon UK T
he way a vehicle drives and feels has always been important. Normal engine noise tends to hide other noises such as brake squeals, suspension
squeaks or pedal movements – but these are increasingly disliked by customers. Hence, manufacturers should understand the behaviour of key components and structures used in their vehicles as part of their noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) testing, and it’s very important that the instrument used to provide feedback doesn’t itself affect the NVH results. Micro-Epsilon has developed contact
and non-contact displacement sensors for vehicle testing for over 50 years. These sensors are used in automotive R&D, test cells, production and more. Applications include laser sensors for vehicle ride height, draw-wire (string pot) sensors for measuring suspension spring/damper movements and pedal
travel, capacitive sensors for measuring brake disc deformation, non-contact eddy-current displacement sensors for measuring valve lift, and non-contact temperature sensors and thermal imaging cameras for measuring the temperature of components.
Vehicle ride height In automotive and motorsport applications, measuring vehicle ride height is critical. As speeds increase, the stability of the car and its aerodynamics must be carefully monitored to ensure the car stays firmly on the ground. Non-contact laser displacement
sensors have been developed to withstand the shock and vibration of being mounted on a vehicle. With the laser window pointing down, toward ground or the racing track, Micro- Epsilon’s ILD1420 sensor series has been extensively used across all motorsport classes to accurately measure and monitor the ride height of cars.
Deformation of brake discs under stress Non-contact capacitive displacement sensors are being used to obtain accurate data on the deformation of brake discs under stress. With surface temperatures rising to 600°C and typical deformations under 100µm, our high-resolution capaNCDT non-contact capacitive displacement measurement system reliably measures deformation of the brake discs under load. Te system also offers wide bandwidth for frequency analysis, up to the 10th harmonic, as well as high-accuracy minimum zero shiſt with changes in temperature. In order to move the measurements
from the dynamometer onto a real vehicle, the capaNCDT DTV system is available for measuring brake disc thickness variations. Te included soſtware allows the engineer to take surface runout and thickness variation measurements in situ before and aſter each test run, without dismounting the wheel, which influences
www.electronicsworld.co.uk October 2022 29
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