Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2023 - ST15

moments on a rotating wheel. They are
designed for use in the development and
testing of complete chassis and chassis
components of different vehicles such as
passenger cars, SUVs, commercial vehicles,
racing cars, and industrial vehicles.
The measured wheel data enables the
vehicle developer to design the vehicle
accurately and safely, as the sensors are
installed directly at the interface between
the vehicle and the road. Only the tire and
the mechanical structure of the measuring
wheel are located between the road and
the wheel hub of the vehicle. High data
accuracy is crucial because WFTs are used
for the development and dimensioning of
parts relevant to safety. Careful calibration
procedures are therefore necessary to ensure
accuracy when measuring the forces
and moments and the angle and angular
velocity of the rotating wheel. Kistler offers
an accredited hexapod calibration bench
to ensure that high quality standards are
met over the long term.
Evolution of Noise, Vibration, and
Harshness (NVH) Measurement for
Future Mobility Solutions
Vehicle design targets might be very
different when considering future mobility
concepts. With the introduction of
e-mobility: noise, vibration, and harshness
become new challenges. NVH covers all
aspects of the acoustic and vibrational
behavior of a vehicle. A proper design
of the NVH characteristics not only influences
performance, durability, and
reliability of the vehicle, it also ensures
conformity to customer expectations in
terms of drivability, comfort, and brand
image. As vehicle technology evolves, NVH
testing paradigms evolve too. In the past,
internal combustion engine (ICE) and
powertrain applications generally required
accelerometers that could withstand temperatures
of up to 160 °C. At the same
time, they needed to ensure a thermally
stable sensitivity to avoid the need for
temperature corrections. Such standards
can be fulfilled by Kistler's PiezoStar technology,
which also offers higher sensitivity
compared to industry-standard Quartz
solutions. When shifting to the future and
especially for e-motors, broader usable
frequency ranges of up to 10 kHz that
still provide high sensitivity are necessary.
Electrical ground isolation is important to
avoid measurement current loops. Last,
but not least, a good acceleration sensor
for automotive applications must ensure
easy and flexible mounting to guarantee a
quick and reliable test setup.
Figure 2. Wheel force transducers (WFT) measure the forces and moments acting on the tire contact
patch by capturing three forces and moments on a rotating wheel. (Image: Kistler Group)
Measurement Data Management in
Vehicle Development
Finally, the data generated in vehicle
testing needs to be managed efficiently
and effectively. Kistler offers MaDaM, a
flexible data management system that
allows users to import and store large
amounts of many different types of measurement
data. The data can then be visualized
and analyzed using jBEAM, which is
a platform-independent application that
processes many different data formats and
can be embedded into existing software.
Evaluation methods can be configured
flexibly to ensure that individual test runs
are evaluated with maximum efficiency.
Kistler offers special editions of jBEAM for
specific application areas, including durability
testing and powertrain analysis, so
users can be sure they get exactly the software
functions they need for their work.
As innovation cycles in the automotive
industry are becoming shorter and
shorter, integrated vehicle testing both
on the test bench and the test course, are
ever more critical. Kistler measurement
solutions cover the entire measurement
chain, from the sensor technology, to
signal conditioning, to all common interfaces,
and user-friendly software.
Figure 3. Advanced accelerometers from Kistler perform holistic NVH tests to optimize vehicles.
(Image: Kistler Group)
Sensor Technology, February 2023
www.techbriefs.com
This article was written by Thorsten
Beck, Product Manager, Vehicle Testing,
Kistler Group. For more information,
visit https://www.kistler.com/en/.
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Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2023

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