1、Unit Ten Vehicle Tests and Facilities Passage BFacilities of Vehicle Proving Ground Almost every major auto manufacturer has its own vehicle proving ground Generally,it is a comprehensive test course It is in this place that the auto manufacturer conducts various rigorous road tests for evaluating v
2、ehicles technical performances and quality correctly A typical proving ground covers an area at least of 20 million square meters It has several different types of test tracks including a high speed oval tract,a straightaway,a rough road test area and other special test facilities,etc(see Fig.10-4).
3、High-speed oval track True to its name,high-speed oval track is a closed oval shape track about 10 km long with 4 lanes,30 degree inclining in the bend(see Fig.10-5).Track-proven driver drives a car on the high speed oval track at high speed for verifying engine power performance,drive train perform
4、ance,ride comfort,handling stability and max speed Straightaway Straightaway is about 3 km long straight line road with 3 lanes(see Fig.10-6).The straightaway is used to verify vehicles wind resistance,fuel economy,dynamic performance and handling stability Rough surface road test area Rough surface
5、 road test area generally contains Belgian brick road,cobble-stone road,washboard road,and scale road(see Fig.10-7).Due to their uneven surfaces,these rough surface roads offer a chance to test the vehicles strength and durability and its parts within a short period of time There are also some other
6、 special test facilities available for special purposes They are low friction road,wading channel facility,winding road and ramp facility Low friction road surface is made of materials like epoxy When sprinklers shower water on the road surface,the friction coefficient of the road become equivalent
7、to that of roads covered by rain,snow or ice Low friction road enables to test for braking performance,anti-lock brake system(ABS)and acceleration slip regulation(ASR)on icy roads regardless of actual weather conditions(see Fig.10-8a).Wading channel facility is used for vehicle wading simulation jus
8、t like rainy day drive(see Fig.10-8b).Wading capability of a car is also an important indicator in measuring the car quality While a car passing the wading channel,the car testers carry out wading analysis of the testing car by watching the situation of the firewall being washed by water flow and se
9、aling of the doors and windows by water splashing Through the test they can make modification thereof to avoid the firewall,doors and windows water leakage Winding road test is to let a testing car travel on a winding road to analyze and assess the testing cars steering performance,brake performance
10、 and curve moving lateral stability,etc(see Fig.10-8c).Ramp test facility contains different ramps in gradient and length(see Fig.10-8d).Generally,each ramp is at least 25 meters long and the gradient is respectively 20%,25%and 30%The ramp test is only to analyze and assess the cars climbing ability
11、,engine power performance,transmission gear ratio and loadNew Words and Expressions manufacturer mnjufktr n 制造商 comprehensive kmprihensiv adj 综合的 rigorous rigrs adj 严格的,严厉的;严密的 oval uvl adj 椭圆的;卵形的 lane lein n 车道 verify verifai vt 核实;查证 uneven ni:vn adj 不平坦的 wading weidi adj 涉水的 ramp rmp n 斜坡,坡道 epo
12、xy ipksi n 环氧基树脂New Words and Expressions sprinkler sprikl n 喷水器 coefficient kuifint n 系数 modification mdifikein n 修改,修正 thereof erv adv 由此 lateral ltrl adj 侧面的,横向的 square meter平方米Common Automobile Terms straightaway streitwei n 直线跑道 high-speedoval track高速椭圆跑道 Belgian brick road比利时砖路 cobble-stone road鹅卵石路 washboard road搓衣板路 scale road鱼鳞路 handling stability行驶稳定性 wading channel涉水通道,涉水池 low friction test低摩擦试验 wading test涉水试验 winding test弯道试验Common Automobile Terms ramp test坡道试验 acceleration slip regulation驱动防滑系统 steering performance转向性能 transmission gear ratio变速器速比
