Automotive

4-Poster and Dynamometer

Through controlled, incisive testing, you can prevent potential premature failures and protect yourself from incurring unnecessary costs. STTAi is here to offer you the means to do physical stress tests on your automotive components and products.

With 4-Poster climatic chambers and configurable features, the chamber allows you to test for - and not limited to - climatic, NVH (Noise, vibration and harshness), vehicle durability and sun simulation tests. These sets of tests provide you the ability to closely replicate the environments and accelerate their effects on your products, so that any underlying flaws and faults are revealed and thus dealt with before launch.

Also, we can provide you the chassis dynamometer, which can be combined with the standard climatic chamber, allowing testing of the engine compartment's efficiency under administered climatic stress. This simulates the stress experienced during typical cycles of a vehicle's working life according to international automotive standards.

Airbag Test

The reliability and safety of airbag deployment has always been a major safety concern for manufacturers and consumers; failure to ensure 100% trustworthiness of your products can result in large recalls, incurring huge losses.

STTAi provides for air bag testing systems that uncovers unforeseen issues with airbag systems and are designed to carry out standard tests required by major internationals regulations. This allows you to remedy them way before launching your products.

Designed for static airbag deployment, our system's patented mechanical structure ensures optimal positioning for recording of results and an automated system to ensure consistency, efficiency and reliability in testing. The system is also customizable to control temperature and humidity to your desired level. The systems is equipped with high speed cameras to view in detail the whole air bag deployment process.

Automotive Mobile Measurement, DAQ and Test Bench

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Battery Test

Automotive batteries are always operating at high temperatures during use, resulting in them being constantly exposed to high stress which may end in devastating failures. STTAi aims to help manufacturers minimize and eliminate such concerns through our test systems.

Our products follows strict international guidelines such as SAND2005 “Electrical Energy Storage System Abuse Test Manual for Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Applications”, BATSO 01 “Manual for evaluation of energy systems for Light Electric Vehicles – Secondary Lithium Batteries”, ISO, IEC and many others. Be assured that our test systems will measure up to international expectations!

In addition to battery tests, we are able to provide you an integrated system to also comprehensively test your products and better simulate the environments that your batteries will operate in. With climatic, vibration, vacuum and salt corrosion chambers, you can tweak your test to your desired parameters and flawlessly link it up with the battery test systems, allowing you to effortlessly conduct full-spectrum tests.

Brake Test

Our test chambers with chassis dynamometers equipped can also double-up as brake testing equipment, helping you carry out brake noise and efficiency performance.

Temperature can be monitored in proximity to each wheel while dedicated filters are installed inside the air treatment unit to capture particles released from the brakes. Also, a shell of sound-absorbing panels are installed in the chamber to aid in the dampening of unnecessary noise for more precise and accurate measurement of brake noise.

Additionally, our systems equipped with a combination of flywheels and programmable inertia, simulated by an electric motor, is also able to perform several types of braking test systems in order to assess fatigue and durability of brakes or Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) analysis.

Similar to real driving conditions, our system can integrate air flow to cool down brakes. Additionally, to reproduce all weather conditions, a climatic chamber can be provided to get rainy conditions and mud projection with water spray.

Calorimeter

Considering the ever growing focus on energy conservation, the need to maximize the energy efficiency of air conditioners and heat pumps is increasingly vital, not to mention the additional benefits such as consumer confidence and international recognition via Ecolabels.

STTAi is here to equip you with the tools necessary to achieve this. Our Calorimetric chambers help you test for the efficiency of heating/cooling capacities of your units and provides you the data to find the right compromise between size and power. This kind of machine is highly customizable since the type of test to be conducted depends on the kind of specimen and performance to be checked. They can also be configured to adhere to other important international standards such as ASHRAE, ISO or EN by choosing the appropriate settings.

Climatic Chamber

Many components in the automotive industry are expected to operate in various conditions outside of ambient temperature and humidity, causing them to experience thermal fatigue which results in premature wear. However, with climatic and thermostatic test chambers, you would be able to force out and detect infancy component failures which would otherwise be detected only after final assembly and delivery.

At STTAi, we provide you various testing solutions that will meet your stipulations. You can also expect our chambers to be accurate and reliable as they are manufactured to adhere to international standards PV 2005 “Testing of Resistance to Environmental Cycle Test”, PR 303.5 “Alternating climate test for trim parts”, DBL 5471 and many others.

In addition to having chambers of varying ramp rates and sizes, you can also equip your chamber with chassis dynamometers, exposing your products to the desired level of stress during engine and end-of-line testing.

We also offer climatic wind tunnels for an even more thorough screening, simulating extreme temperatures, humidity, ice, rain, snow and solar radiation. Every part of the vehicle can be tested for in a controlled environment to determine its performance.

Through the use of Climatic chambers, you can shorten the lead time from the engineering of a product to its launch into the market.

Corrosion Diagnostic Test

The Corrosion diagnostic test is designed to highlight the corrosion process on metallic materials and alloys in a fast and easily reproducible manner. Taking over and replacing the traditional “salt spray test”, this test is meant to better replicate real-life “on the ground” scenarios to properly reflect what your product goes through in its useful life cycle. This will expose unforeseen effects of wear and tear on your products so that you can remedy those problems before launching them into the market.

We can provide you the tools to test for corrosions such as filiform corrosions, according to standards UNI 9399 and scab corrosions, under standards UNI 9590. In addition to that, standard continuous or alternate salt spray tests, which meet international standards DIN and ASTM, can be customized to suit your specific needs. Such tailored tests have met the requirements of companies such as Fiat, Ford, Nissan, Renault and GM.

Drive-in VOC Test Chamber

With recent concerns of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and their impact on health and air quality, it is now increasingly important to be able to determine how this affects your products. STTAi will provide you the capability to detect potentially harmful volatile gases which are widely used in industrial and consumer products.

With specially processed interior materials to achieve ultra-low background VOC concentration and designed air circulation to guarantee low air velocity, your test results will be made far more accurate. The test chambers also come equipped with infrared simulation systems so that the effects of sunlight on VOC levels can be decided.

Our systems are designed to uphold international standards ISO/FDIS 12219-1:2011(E) “Interior air of road vehicles - Specification and method for the determination of volatile organic compounds in cabin interiors”, PV3938 “Emissions in the entire vehicle”, JAMA, and HT400-2007, so you can trust in its reliability.

Dust and Rain Chamber

During their effective lifespan, industrial products are subjected to more than just wear from temperature and humidity, but also from atmospheric agents such as dust, sand and rain. However, such unpredictably damaging factors can still be tested for, so that you can be certain that the products you manufacture will not prematurely wear out.

Our test chambers comply with all major international standards, such as reproducing all the conditions stated in IP5X “Dust Ingress Testing: Dust Protected”, IP6X “Dust Ingress Testing: Dust Tight”, MIL-STD 331 and MIL-STD 810 C. Furthermore, our chambers for rain tests are manufactured according to DIN specifications, and can test under standards CEI EN 60529, and CEI EN 60068-2-18 - IPX3/IPX4 protection classes.

Emissions and Cold Start Test

With global focus shifting towards decreasing emissions and going green, the ability to accurately test for emissions during operation is crucial. That is why STTAi is here to provide you the methods for testing emissions in a reliable, replicable and accurate manner.

Our chambers allow you to perform various tests such as emission and cold start tests, observing international standards under GB, EU, CARB and EPA. The chambers are equipped with fire safety and video surveillance systems. It also features integrated emissions analysers, wind simulation blowers and chassis dynamometers to better the precision of the systems

Engine Parts Stress Test

CYLINDER HEAD FATIGUE
Many new Diesel engines generates high pressure peaks causing high stress levels on cylinder heads. We are able to provide you systems which can perform durability and fatigue tests on cylinder heads by accurately replicating actual pressure signals and frequencies. It uses a hydraulic power supply and high dynamic servo-valves to simulate combustion. A great variety of cylinder heads can be tested with quick and easy installation. The control system provides closed loop control with multiple frequencies algorithm with FFT analysis and automatic cracks detection.

SWIRL, TUMBLE & PRESSURE DROP
New environment norms require engine manufacturers to reduce exhaust emissions by improving combustion efficiency. One way is to control air intake conditions by optimizing cylinder head and intake manifold designs. We provide the equipment needed to perform three essential measurements on a wide range of cylinder heads: swirl, tumble and pressure drop (up to 0.2 kg/s air flow simulation). To get high accuracy measurements, the system integrates an innovative swirl meter using a honeycomb structure with high resolution torque measurement associated with a mass flow meter.

FRICTION MEASUREMENT
Our system measures the friction loss inside the cylinder block. Associated systems regulate the air pressure due to the combustion (up to 180 bars) and the water and oil circuit temperatures.

WATER COOLING CIRCUIT
To evaluate the durability of the water cooling circuit, our systems can simulate the vehicle's configuration and then apply a realistic gradient of water temperature under actual pressure conditions.

Engine Test Benches

Configured to do specialized testing on engines and their performance, our chambers facilitate you in the screening of engine efficiency and emission.

Engine test benches are able to simulate different configurations of the engine driven components such as steering pump, alternator, A/C compressor, crankshaft pulley and rollers. Before the production of the engine prototype, it permits to study the effects of dynamic torque loads on the engine driven components and to characterize the behaviour of the driving belt.

With comprehensive temperature and humidity control, you can also simulate even the most extreme conditions that your engines would experience during operation anywhere in the world. With this dedicated chamber, it is possible to run full dynamic and real-world testing under a wide range of climatic conditions

To further enhance accuracy and precision, we can add another test variable, altitude simulation, upon request.

Explosion Testing

In many industries, testing of certain products or components that have a tendency to explode under stress is inevitable. Therefore, chambers that are used for testing products and components that may potentially explode require special explosion proof configurations.

STTAi is able to provide you the unique configurations specially tailored to the automotive industry. Their capabilities also go beyond explosion-proofing, additional safety features can be equipped. Safety features such as internal emergency pushbuttons, fire detection and suppression systems.

Impact Simulation

Our impact simulation systems are equipped with full hydraulic systems with closed loop control, allowing speed, acceleration and positional control until free flight. Two sizes of servo-hydraulic launchers are available: a small one for tests inside the vehicle and a larger one for heavier impactors.

The control software makes automatic compensations to ensure correct impact velocity, angle and location. Taking into account the effects of gravity, impact angle, free-flight distance, head form shape and angle of the impact surface, the software ensures precision in every one of your tests.

The Instrumented Crash Wall is made of 125 x 125 mm strain gauge load sensors, specially designed to record data in multi-axial crash applications. It has 3 main types of configurations, namely, Frontal Crash, Deformable Offset barrier crash, offset crash with AZT corners. For definitive results, data acquisition equipment is located directly in the crash wall structure to avoid complex cabling and is connected with a single Ethernet cable. Each strain gauge characteristic is taken into account and mathematical corrections are made to achieve outstanding accuracy.

The Sled-crash systems are based on an innovative catapult system using belt technology, accelerating the car with a long synchro-belt actuated by an electric synchronous motor. It is released within 1 meter of the crashing point at the exact targeted speed.

Noxious Gas Test Chamber

Noxious, corrosive gases can cause early termination of automotive components. However, creating an environment containing noxious gas inside a closed space for testing poses a significant challenge. At STTAi, we provide you extensive, multi-layered solutions to such problems.

We provide you a removable container with an airtight door installed inside the test compartment to be used exclusively for testing noxious gases. The noxious gas system consists of:

• Two-stage pressure reducer
• Gas flow meters
• Polluting atmosphere suction pump
• Gasometer
• Pneumatic noxious gas intake valve
• Noxious gas abatement system with Drechsel bottles (to be supplied by the client).

Our systems allow you to perform such tests with ease and it can be configured to meet specifications set by you or by international testing standards.

Solar Simulator

Our solar simulation chambers are able to test for the potential damage caused by the sun and its full array of solar radiation, providing you insight to the effects of the sun on your equipment. We offer you the ability to expedite testing for exposure to solar radiation with these chambers, which accelerate the effects of aging under specified conditions under your control.

The Ultraviolet, Infrared and Metal Halide lamps used to reproduce the whole spectrum of solar radiation are all able meet international standards with reference to DIN 75220, MIL STD 810F and BMW PR 306 “Solar Simulation for Exterior and Interior Parts”.

A wide selection of chamber sizes are available, ranging from a few hundred Liters to drive-in variants.

The capabilities of these chambers are not limited to simulating sunlight. They can also be configured to simultaneously perform rain, climatic and even vibration tests to better replicate the complete effects of the environment on your automotive components.

Steering Test

Since most steering systems use electric or hydraulic power system, full communication under CAN protocol is available. In addition, BIA also offers a real turnkey solution by providing a climatic module.

To characterize steering column, an electric actuator is used to simulate steering wheel actions. On the output side, several modules have been developed to measure:

• Twist rigidity by applying torque on rack side
• Friction torque (with or without load)
• Homokinetic defects by comparing input and output velocities. Additionally, hydraulic actuators can be added in order to apply loads on steering rack and to simulate wheel loads. Dynamic test such as those mentioned below can be performed.
• Violent wheel swerve: acceleration up to 15 000°/s2 with 6000N resistive force on rack
• Wheel release after wheel turn: steering column behavior study after wheel releasing
• Frequential characterization (direct or reverse): system response measurement under vibrating (force/displacement)
• Derating: power electronics failure analysis

For fatigue & durability tests, steering column is adjusted in height and angle. Two hydraulic rotating actuators are positioned on the wheel and rack side. They are used to drive the steering column up to 150 N.m in static tests, whereas dynamic tests frequencies can reach 10Hz. Additionally, another linear actuator oscillates the rack side up to 10Hz.

Structural Integrity Test

Roof crush, door intrusion, seat belt anchorage and seat restraint tests can be performed to determine the structural integrity both the car's chassis and also how dependable the seats and seat belts are under stress. Such tests are important as they are an important factor in deciding the safety features the car can offer.

Our Roof Crush & Door Intrusion test system offers great manoeuvrability, precision measurement and state-of-the-art data acquisition to quantify structural integrity with better accuracy and simplicity. Providing 4 tri-axial load cells to locate the load application point and equipped with magneto-strictive position sensor to measure absolute displacement, it offers accuracy of force measurement after software treatment of up to 0.5%.

We have also developed a compact and noiseless Seat Belt Anchorage test system, designed for maximum accuracy and flexibility with optimized hydraulic needs. Motorized adjustments combined with the control software allows for ease of precise positioning. Coupled with user-friendly software for test set-up and data acquisition, the test system is simple yet effective in achieving conclusive, clear-cut results. The Seat Belt Anchorage can be set up from one to nine axis configurations in its standard version. It is available in either compact or cable-less design.

Finally, the Head and Seat Back restraint test system comes with full electric actuators, this equipment can perform tests on up to 3 seats simultaneously. Each actuator can be independently controlled in a closed loop, either in force, torque or position, at each step of the test sequence. Also, depending on the size of the vehicle, the width of the torso located in the middle can be adjusted by steps of 10 mm. With the specific torque-meter with a double range calibration, measurements are accurate for both high and low torque with total accuracy within 0.5%. Also, the linear guided displacement causes the lateral load to be unaffected by the headform force measurement, while displacement measurements are made through optical (linear and rotating) encoders, ensuring meticulous test results.

Thermal Shock Test

Thermal Shock tests are severe stress tests that check for the material's ability to withstand rapid changes in temperature. Defects tend to occur when an object experiences sudden thermal expansion and contraction. By exposing your products to thermal shock tests, it will allow you to anticipate and prevent latent defects in the materials used or the structural integrity of the product.

Here at STTAi, we offer you solutions and methods to conduct these tests and give you free rein to choose and alter the specifics to your desired values. We offer air-to-air and liquid-to-liquid chambers, allowing you the option of the regular, rapid thermal shock tests or an even faster, short and sharp thermal shock test. We also offer double or triple cabinet units, giving you the choice to include the intermediate ambient temperature step.

All our air-to-air thermal shock test chambers meet the international standards IEC68-2-14 (test Na), MIL-STD 202 D/E/F, MIL-STD 883 A/C/D; and all our liquid-to-liquid chambers meet the IEC68-2-14 (test Nc), MIL-STD 202 D/E/F, MIL-STD 883 A/C/D standards.

Transmissions Test

We provide advanced testing solutions to evaluate and develop clutch, gearbox, synchronizer or complete transmission be it MT, AT or AMT. Durability tests (gear, bearing, differential, casing,…), Noise Vibration & Harshness analysis (NVH), efficiency and quality of gear change are some examples of test that can be performed.

Our solution for complete transmission test is composed of three direct drive asynchronous motors without intermediate gearing or belt. With its inline configuration design, it reduces testing area footprint and eases integration of noise protection and climatic modules.

We also offer another important innovation in transmission and gearbox testing with its water-cooled input electric motor. With very low inertia (0,2kg.m2) our test systems are especially dedicated to these applications. Thanks to this technology, noise and thermal emission are reduced and high dynamic performances are reached.

In order to also simulate driving conditions and evaluate the gear change quality, a driver cab can be added upon request.

Ultra-high Stress Test

The ultra-high stress chambers provide extremely accelerated product testing that aid in detecting any inherent design, material or manufacturing flaws. It is able to perform specific stress tests such as HALT, HASS, Strep stress testing and more, with each test identifying specific defects that other traditional methods and equipment were unable to.

Ultra-high stress chambers subject your products to rapidly changing temperatures over a large temperature range, allowing for extreme cold or hot tests. These chambers also come with repetitive shock vibration test systems capable of 6 Degrees of Freedom movement and powered by a Pneumatic vibrator. By exposing your products to these high stress chambers, latent defects in your product's components, design or manufacturing process can be discovered in mere hours or days.

Vibration and Climatic Test

Vibration testing provides manufacturers and vendors great insight regarding the reliability and structural integrity of their products, helping you ensure that they reach the end customer in perfect condition and will continue to perform excellently within its warranty period.

Using our test chambers, the product is subjected to controlled, mechanic vibrations, in addition to the optional temperature and humidity settings of the user's choosing. We also offer a huge selection of chamber sizes, ranging from table-top to walk-in; and a large spectrum of adjustable frequencies and rated forces, allowing you to do comprehensive vibration stress tests.

Our basic and universal design allows for easy reconfiguration to fit a shaker of your choosing. The climatic chambers are available in both thermostatic (T only) and climatic (T and RH) versions and can also be fitted with an infrared simulation system upon request.