AUTOMOTIVE TESTING


Future Powertrain Testing


Test facility capacity increases to provide more opportunities for carrying out testing and development work on electrified and alternative powertrains.


M


illbrook has expanded its propulsion systems testing and development centre in Bedfordshire to


provide some of the most advanced propulsion system testing facilities and equipment in the industry. The newly expanded propulsion systems test house now includes a Portable Emissions Measurement System workshop and a 4WD Powertrain Test System in addition to its Variable Temperature Emissions Chamber (VTEC), Evaporative Emissions Chamber and 18 engine test cells. The centre has also just commissioned its second 4WD Climatic Emissions Chassis Dynamometer. This was built in response to high demand for development and regulated vehicle emissions testing.


REDUCED DEVELOPMENT TIMES Millbrook allows customers to reduce vehicle development times. Its facilities are being correlated to ensure that vehicles can be repeatedly tested for global compliance to standards such as the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). Millbrook’s Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) workshop, suitable for vehicles from small passenger cars through to buses and trucks, provides a space for engineers to calibrate equipment to suit


a variety of PEMS tests. The facility was developed and installed to meet increased customer demand for vehicle emissions testing, as manufacturers seek to improve Real Driving Emissions (RDE). Prior to testing the full powertrain,


Millbrook can validate integrations at an individual system level, such as EDU, on a 2WD test system. All facilities are conveniently located in the UK, close to Millbrook’s climatic chambers and shakers, which are used for system and component durability tests. Millbrook’s propulsion systems test facilities are ideally suited to testing the real-world energy efficiency and consumption of fuels and lubricants and the wear characteristics on components. Alex Burns, President of Millbrook,


says “The rate of development of ultra- low emission, electrified and alternative powertrains has gathered astonishing pace in recent years, creating many new challenges. Millbrook now has a suite of test facilities that allow engineers to test a full range of powertrain types to a number of repeatable test procedures, with results from one test facility easily correlated to another.”


TESTING IN THE USA Earlier this year, Millbrook also announced that it will open a new test facility in California to offer a wide range


❱ ❱ A full set of dynamometers and emissions testing systems at


Millbrook include climatic chambers for evaluating vehicle emissions against real driving conditions.


of electrified powertrain tests. Millbrook is also investing in a new VTEC facility in the UK to provide emissions testing for heavy duty vehicles across conventional, hybrid, electric, hydrogen and alternative powertrains.


4WD CLIMATIC EMISSIONS The latest addition to the test centre is used to simulate road driving conditions in a temperature controlled environment for powertrain development and type approval testing of light duty vehicles. As part of the wider expansion,


Millbrook has installed twenty one soak bays in its UK facility to facilitate efficient vehicle preparation and ensure maximum facility utilisation. These include ten with 23°C ambient control, five with temperature ranges of -20°C to +50°C and six with temperature ranges of +10°C to +30°C. All soak bays have continuous vehicle and air temperature monitoring to cover all legislative temperatures. As the emphasis on improved air


quality and reduced CO2 of vehicles continues, Millbrook’s new chassis dyno can be used to test against regulated targets and to support in- service conformity testing. As energy consumption concerns also rise, HVAC and ambient vehicle temperatures will be more important due to their direct impact in an electric vehicle.


Automotive Test & Validation Vol 2 No. 2 /// 9


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