Allison Transmission has expanded the electrification testing capabilities at its Vehicle Environmental Test Centre, which will be rebranded as the Vehicle Electrification and Environmental Test Centre (VE+ET).
The Centre is located on the campus of Allison Transmission’s global headquarters in Indianapolis and offers a range of repeatable and seasonally-independent vehicle electrification testing.
“Recognising the value of this resource and considering Allison’s knowledge of battery management and system level integration, Allison engineers, along with our OEM partners are leveraging the Vehicle Electrification and Environmental Test Centre to facilitate electric vehicle development and validation programmes,” said Allison Transmission executive director of Global Marketing, Branden Harbin.
“These engagements are an opportunity to support the continued development of fully electric propulsion solutions, as well as deepen and develop partnerships with established OEMs and new entrants.”
Opened in 2020, the 60,000-square-foot VE+ET Centre houses a hot soak chamber, a cold soak chamber and two chassis dyne-equipped environmental chambers, capable of simulating a range of duty cycles.
Environmental conditions from negative 54 degrees to positive 125 degrees Fahrenheit, altitudes up to 18,000 feet, as well as grades and other on-road conditions, can be simulated in the facility. A recently added thermal feature simulates solar radiant heat to support HVAC testing.
The two testing chambers can accommodate most commercial on-highway, off-highway and wheeled defence vehicle applications, in addition to automotive passenger vehicles. Testing is applicable for a wide range of propulsion systems, including conventional powertrains, alternative fuel, electric hybrid, fully electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
As demand increases to test and validate larger battery electric vehicles, Allison has extended the test centre’s Battery Emulation capability to accommodate above 500 kilowatts with a maximum of 900 volts DC. This allows for around the clock testing without the need to stop and recharge, resulting in more evaluation completed in a shorter timeframe.
Allison notes battery emulators are “ideal” for battery replacement during test, modified state of charge, and/or any additional DC load on vehicles. In addition, the Vehicle Electrification and Environmental Test Centre offers commercial fast charging capabilities at 150 kilowatts.
“Allison was proud to announce the expansion and rebrand of the Vehicle Electrification + Environmental Test Centre for the first time at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo,” added Allison Vehicle Electrification + Environmental Test Centre GM, David Proctor.
“The services available at the facility allow OEMs to push their development dollars further while reducing design and discovery time, simplifying the process to help them get to market faster.”
https://www.allisontransmission.com/en-gb/company/news-article/2021/09/02/allison-transmission-announces-expanded-electrification-capabilities-and-rebrand-of-vehicle-test-center