During the Tour De France this year, you may have seen several commercials showing a certain rider trailing behind team vehicle after team vehicle with tailpipe after tailpipe leading the way. While the message of this spot predicts a future with electric vehicles and no tailpipes, we know here in the testing industry that the exhaust system isn’t going anywhere soon. It will only become more and more complex as it adapts to new requirements and technologies. It is more than just a tailpipe; in fact, it is a complicated component that must perform a very important job while retaining its durability in the worst conditions. The exhaust system is one of the most abused pieces of equipment on the vehicle. It is repeatedly exposed to extreme hot and cold, splashed with water and salt, vibrated, and exposed to the unpredictable obstacles and debris of the road.
Stricter emissions regulations have caused designers to come up with lighter designs that have additional components such as urea pumps and afterburners. Different catalytic materials have been selected to control the effect of exhaust gas on the environment. Some engineers have even experimented with plastics and composites to create innovative new light weight, high strength designs. All of which must pass laboratory testing before they can be released.
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Over the past few years, MGA has continually expanded the facilities and array of services offered for real-time simulation durability testing. Typically, these facilities include systems and expertise related to Multi-Axis Simulation Tables (MAST), Electro-Dynamic (ED) vibration systems, and multi-channel fatigue capabilities. This fall, MGA has made its largest expansion yet into this area of testing technology. This expansion is part of a multi-year plan to convert the Elliott campus of buildings, purchased in 2005, to specialized test laboratories serving the needs of the automotive industry.
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Full Exhaust System Testing utilizing MAST Tables
Dual Mast Table Exhaust Test
Testing the complete exhaust system using MAST tables allows an OEM to expose the system to a life-time of usage simulated in a laboratory environment over the course of just a few weeks. This type of testing typically starts with the instrumentation of the exhaust system and vehicle with accelerometers, thermocouples and strain gages. Somat E-Dac acquisition systems are used to collect the road load data while the vehicle is driven over proving ground events. Data analysis and editing is done with nCode Glyph works analysis software. This allows the test time to be reduced while retaining the damage that the exhaust system would see for the specified durability schedule.
MGA can accept many formats of CAD data from the customer which is then used to design the test fixtures. Fixtures are built and certified to provide the mounting locations for the engine and the body side hangers.
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