Application notes

Testing Safely in High-voltage Environments

When developing new batteries and battery management systems for electric vehicles, extensive tests and validations are the order of the day. This includes life cycle testing and misuse tests. These can be used to determine the load limits of battery cells, battery modules and complete battery packs. Investigations include charging and discharging cycles in climatic chambers as well as crash loads, penetration, compression, bending and vibration tests. These comprehensive tests require a flexible, automated test system, including data evaluation. The measurement technology acquires data safely and without disturbance in a high voltage environment. SK Innovation, one of the world's largest battery manufacturers, relied on the HV measurement technology from imc Test & Measurement and commissioned several measurement racks for battery tests.

Reliable mobile multi-channel data acquisition with imc CRONOSflex in vehicle misuse-tests

Vehicles must be able to withstand extreme track conditions, such as potholes, ramps, jumps or curbs. Misuse tests are used to evaluate the safety and performance of components under these conditions. When validating the chassis components and the system behavior of the chassis, it is also a matter of checking the threshold values of the control units for passive safety. Using the imc measurement system CRONOSflex, IDIADA in Spain collected data from the vehicle (CAN-FD, Flexray, in-vehicle sensor signals ...) and from additionally installed sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, displacement transducers, force transducers, strain gauges ...) during the tests.

Dynamic load testing of rail wheelsets

A rail vehicle is subject to various dynamic loads under real operating conditions. Determining these loads is a cornerstone of railroad vehicle development. The aim of the project at Gutehoffnungshütte Radsatz GmbH (GHH-Radsatz) is to develop models that simulate the dy-namic load of tram wheels. To this end GHH-Radsatz developed a measurement wheel for use while the tram is operating in order to acquire data on relevant parameters. This included using a telemetry system from the imc partner KMT – Kraus Messtechnik GmbH.

WLTP consumption testing

The new statutory WLTP test cycle requires a consumption measurement for each variant of a new passenger car model. The measurement procedure used by the EU as the standard for consumption values includes a measurement on the test bench and an RDE test on the road to determine realistic values. In order to cope with this test cycle in a time-saving and cost-efficient manner, imc developed a user-friendly and compact measurement box that works both on the test bench and on the road.

Joint-Debugging at High-speed lines

For the last 10 years in the fields of scientific research and manufacturing in China, one of the im-portant hot spots of the national economy and the people's livelihood is their high-speed railway – a large-scale test project whose mobile laboratory is referred to as “Doctor Yellow”. This comprehensive high-speed test train, equipped with imc data acquisition systems, represents the highest level of research and testing in the construction of high-speed railway vehicles and infrastructure.

Small-scale wind turbine certification with imc systems

The world's first IEC 61400 certificate for a vertical wind turbine has recently been given by TÜV Rheinland to Directtech GmbH. As part of the certification of the Windtracker turbine, all relevant safety requirements and loads on the wind turbine were tested. The verification and data analysis of the field measurements were carried out by the accredited company Windtest Grevenbroich. For performing the measurement tasks within the scope of small-scale wind turbine certification, Windtest used measurement sys-tems from imc.

Testing e-vehicle fleets

“Fleets Go Green” is a project designed to analyze and evaluate the efficiency of electric vehicles in everyday use with a factory fleet as the test subjects. imc Test & Measurement GmbH is participating in this research project sponsored by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The research results will form the basis for the decision to convert regular vehicle fleets to electric cars in the future.

SBB monitors Swiss railways with imc measurement systems

The SBB has developed stationary wheel-load checkpoints that can automatically acquire key data from a passing train in real time. With the help from imc, these checkpoints are equipped with high-precision strain gauge bridge amplifiers, as well as an industrial PC according to customer specifications. The system is designed to acquire safety-relevant load data, such as axle overloading and cargo shifting. It also recognizes flat spots on the wheels.

Formula Student testing with imc

“Formula Student Germany” is a design and engineering competition that brings together scientific and academic theory of technical colleges and universities with practical experience on a real race track. During a year’s time, the students design and build their own race car that has to comply with a set of competition rules. The German team from the Hochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten was supported by imc Test & Measurement GmbH with one of their imc CANSAS-L-DCB8 modules. This measurement module was used to determine and investigate forces and strain that the car's suspension system was subjected to under real race conditions.

Fast and reliable measurement data acquisition in power plants

Service and maintenance departments in power plants all over the world are faced with difficult tasks in relation to their measurement systems. Above all, solutions must be implemented for mobile use and as many different signals as possible must be acquired and measured with one measurement device. imc Test & Measurement GmbH has developed its innovative and compact imc measurement system case especially for this area of application.

How do you ensure that it’s not too loud in the vehicle?

For quite some time now, interior noise in cars has been getting quieter. The once dominant sound of the internal combustion engine is now in the background, and other noise sources have moved to the forefront. Due to their high RPM, alternators contribute up to 40% of this total noise inside the vehicle. In order that this noise doesn't become to dominant or disturbing, imc automated the entire test sequence. The system consists of a modular imc measurement system and customized software based on the imc STUDIO software platform.

Vibration testing in hand-held power tools

In the modern development of hand-held power tools, the measurement of frequencies and vibrations that can be harmful to humans, as well as determining resonances in rotating tools, plays an increasingly important role. On the one hand, it is a matter of fulfilling the EU Standard “Noise and Vibration Regulations” (standard measurement procedure according to EN ISO 5349-1/2). On the other hand, it is of great importance to identify weak points in the tool at an early stage by means of order tracking and thus eliminate them easily.

Solar-Racer: 3010 km through the Australian desert with imc technology

The Solar Team Twente, a team of students of the Saxion Poly Technical College and of the University of Twente (Enschede, The Netherlands) took part in this event. Together they constructed the 'Twente One' as they called their solar vehicle. With new regulations for the 2007 event, they went for a completely new and innovative design. Not only mechanically, but also electrically and electronically the Solar Team Twente uses the newest technology. The heart of the electronics featured an imc C-SERIES intelligent data logger.