North American test facility to focus on improving driveline efficiency for commercial vehicles
April 9, 2018 | By Rehana Begg
Michigan, USA, 06th April 2018 – A new test facility has been developed in Michigan to help commercial vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers increase the efficiency of vehicle drivelines. Developed and operated by Drive System Design Inc, the North American subsidiary of UK-based driveline engineering consultancy Drive System Design, the facility will help manufacturers lower emissions and improve fuel economy.
“The current focus on real-world emissions means the efficiency challenge has suddenly become substantially more critical, yet parasitic and other losses are still draining energy unnecessarily,” says Jon Brentnall, President DSD Inc. “Our parent company has developed what we believe is Europe’s most advanced, commercially-available development centre for vehicle driveline efficiency, with many test systems designed in-house to ensure that areas that have not previously received sufficient attention can now be investigated. It is our intention to build similar test capability tailored to the North American market.”
The facility will initially house a loaded transmission efficiency test rig and will be developed throughout the year to finally include three pieces of driveline test equipment. The current rig, which is fully operational, is suitable for all transmission types, including engine accessory drives, such as supercharger gearboxes. It will largely be used for transmission efficiency testing and the data produced will also ensure that transmission efficiency math models produced in-house are well correlated.
Further expansion throughout the year will include a hydraulic test stand for hydraulic valve body development and a tilt rig, which provides enhanced lubrication flow analysis capability. “This will require a larger facility in the area, which we are already investigating,” says Brentnall. “We are delighted to be offering this opportunity for the automotive industry in North America, but also for aspiring engineers looking for their next challenge – the initial expansion has already generated nine engineering vacancies.”
The new facility will also include extensive customer accessibility, allowing DSD’s engineers to work closely with its customers throughout design, development and validation programs. “Our consultant engineers in Europe found that they were able to produce designs that theoretically provided significant, low cost improvements in efficiency, but that the test facilities were not available to focus development attention in the appropriate areas,” Brentnall explains. “The answer was to develop their own test systems, designed specifically for this increasingly important area of driveline engineering. With the accelerating trend to electrification, the test center is also designed for mild and full hybrid drivelines and full electric drivelines.”
DSD Inc. will be presenting at the CTI Symposium USA at Novi, Michigan, on May 14-17. The company will present a paper that focuses on the control software and novel thinking behind the control strategy for a transmission that will have undergone initial light load testing using the new efficiency test rig.
Drive System Design (DSD) is an award winning engineering consultancy specializing in the engineering, development, test and control of transmission and future driveline systems.
For more information, visit www.drivesystemdesign.com.
