DETROIT: Ford boasts the world’s first fully mobile aeroacoustic wind tunnel, a patent-pending test system that allows for sources of unwanted wind noise in early production vehicles to be identified faster and solutions developed sooner.
It's a fact that consumers want quieter vehicles. It’s a leading purchase consideration among those looking for a new car. So Ford has come up with this mobile system to make its vehicles even quieter.
Ford’s new wind tunnel debuts at Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan – joining a growing fleet of mobile testing facilities including three environmental evaluation chambers. Full-sized aerodynamics labs, such as Ford’s main wind tunnel in Allen Park, Michigan, are outfitted with the latest in sensitive measuring and analysis equipment.
These office building-sized facilities are specialised for advanced aerodynamic and aeroacoustic development work on future models, with each facility costing about US$50 million. Due to the specialised instruments and cost, running time for these machines is precious.
Ford’s new mobile wind tunnel costs a fraction of what a full-sized lab costs. Because testing requires only a steady stream of highway-speed wind, many of the large and sensitive instruments of a full aero lab aren’t required. But high-tech, in-cabin sensors like the Aachen head and Noise Vision can still be used.
With an on-site wind noise facility, Ford factories can pull more sample vehicles directly from the line and test them with no delay – eliminating the time and complexity of shipping vehicles back
and forth across the country.