Crash testing – Volvo’s centre of excellence
Crash testing – Volvo’s centre of
excellence
6 September 2007
The Volvo Cars Safety Centre has performed over two thousand crash tests since its inauguration in 2000. The level of activity has grown over the years and ten cars per week are now tested in the crash test laboratory - one of the leading facilities of its type in the world.
The Volvo Cars Safety Centre is designed to reproduce accidents of many different kinds. The crash test laboratory is equipped with two tracks, one movable and one permanent. The movable track can be adjusted up to 90 degrees to enable tests of all kinds, from frontal to side collisions, to be carried out between cars travelling at different angles and speeds. The permanent track is long enough to enable the cars to be accelerated to speeds of 120 km/h. A series of other tests, such as rollover accidents or collisions with animals or other objects in the surrounding environment, can also be performed.
Over 100 crash tests per model
The
requirements specified by various public agencies and bodies
such as EuroNCAP and IIHS represent only part of the
centre's work; Volvo Cars performs additional crash tests to
ensure the collision performance of its cars is the best
possible. In the course of development, a new Volvo model
undergoes no less than 100 to 120 crash tests.
"To offer cars with a world-class standard of safety, we have to verify that the systems protect occupants of various sizes at a wide range of speeds and in a variety of accident situations. It is the capacity to replicate real-life accidents that makes our facility unique," explains Magnus Krokström, senior manager at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre.
In total, about 450 crash tests are carried out annually. Since the designation of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre as the Safety Centre of Excellence for the Ford Motor Company, other makes of car produced by the group - including Jaguar and Land Rover - are also tested there.
Reproduction of real-life accidents
Development and
testing activities in the laboratory also involve the
reconstruction of real-life accidents:
"Analysing actual
road accidents and then testing new safety systems in the
laboratory enables us to improve the safety of our cars,
making them safer in the real traffic environment," says
Magnus.
Since new legislation, market forces and safety
systems constantly present the laboratory with new
challenges, it is important to maintain close contact with
the researcher community to ensure that resources are
allocated correctly with an eye to future developments. As
an example, when planning work on the Safety Centre began
back in 1996, it was foreseen that compatibility, in the
context of crashes between large and small cars, would be an
important area of research in the future. And so it has
proved. Other types of testing that have grown in importance
in recent years include rear-end collisions, which have
become increasingly common in heavy urban traffic, and
angled side collisions, which are a common occurrence at
junctions.
"Although we have had to make some
modifications since the early days, there are now almost no
limits to what we can do in the laboratory," says
Magnus.
Planning and follow-up
A crash test takes
five days to complete. Three days are spent preparing the
test car, fitting sensors and applying a matt paint, usually
orange, to avoid reflections from the car while filming. The
test dummies are also prepared at this time. Final
preparation, including the installation of instrumentation
systems and cameras, takes place the day before the actual
test. On average, two crash tests are performed every day,
ensuring effective use of the facility.
"Although test
data can be read out within an hour, manual inspection of
both car and dummies is also required. Our analysts deliver
a preliminary report to the car project team within 24
hours. This is followed by a more detailed analysis that can
take up to a fortnight;" says Magnus.
Virtual
simulations
Computerised crash simulations are performed,
using advanced computers, about three and a half years prior
to the production of a new car model. Physical testing
commences about a year before the model is launched on the
market. Test cars used by the project team for other tests
are among the vehicles used for this purpose. The cars are
updated as required to make them as similar as possible to
the final version. However, no physical testing is carried
out unless Volvo Cars' safety experts are satisfied with the
results of virtual testing.
Testing of preventive safety systems - systems that help to prevent accidents - has also begun recently. Calling for effective test methods much more advanced than the first Volvo crash test 50 years ago - when a car was rolled down a hill to hit a concrete wall - this represents one of the biggest challenges facing the Volvo Cars Safety Centre at Torslanda in Göteborg.
ends