Apr 17 2007Giant treadmill built for cars
Haas CNC Racing NASCAR team owner Gene Haas teamed up with Jacobs Engineering to create the first rolling road testing facility in the United States known as WindShear Inc. It's a one-millimeter thick continuous steel belt that rolls at over 180mph, and features sensors under the bed that can take readings at each wheel. It was created because wind tunnels get errors in readings at such high speeds. Although I'd much rather deal with reading errors than have a test car go shooting through the wall because the wheels and belt weren't exactly matched up.
One more shot after the jump.
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Reader Comments
1. hmm - April 25, 2007 9:30 AM
That doesn't exactly make sense. They test airplanes in wind tunnels, and they go faster than 180 - and even if car wind tunnels are different and aren't reliable at those speeds, running a car on a treadmill wouldn't be the same as putting it in a wind tunnel.
Wind tunnels test for aerodynamics... in this case the car isn't moving anywhere you'd just be testing engine, wheels and brakes maybe?
2. nick - April 26, 2007 12:03 AM
I think the concept is to add the treadmill to the wind tunnel to be closer to the real thing.
3. build weights muscle - April 29, 2007 3:16 AM
muscle chest build
4. Rob - April 29, 2007 3:48 PM
it's to test the tires... a wind tunnel isn't accurate for that. so mixing this with a wind tunnel would give them the best results for EVERYTHING. they're not testing aerodynamics on this, just tires.
5. gio - May 3, 2007 6:13 AM
here could be more accurate specially in other areas like heat transfer...
6. pinewood derby star cars - May 4, 2007 8:59 AM
cars pinewood derby of
7. Old Man Jack - May 4, 2007 8:35 PM
Look carefully at the top photo at the little fixtures in brass to the left of the car and then at in the second picture to the right. I think they're using tension wires to monitor relative speeds and centering. Ah. Good old fashioned reliable mechanical systems. The guy at the table is still brave though.
8. Greg - May 19, 2007 5:28 PM
oh, how hilarious will it be when the motor breaks on the treadmill and the belt line halts. Car is going a few blocks down the street.
9. JimSeaborn - January 11, 2009 2:28 PM
These systems are built by a company in Minnesota called MTS they specialize in sensors and hydraulics if you would like to research it try looking up the company. They also build friction stir welders which are very cool! I know this as I used to work there.
10. Jim Seaborn - January 11, 2009 2:33 PM
The single-belt system is similar to aerodynamic testing systems used by Motorsports teams. However, this particular Rolling Road Aerodynamic Testing System will incorporate a technique that was jointly developed by MTS and BMW for separating rolling resistance data from aerodynamic drag data. This technique allows engineering teams to access highly comprehensive data for testing evaluations.
MTS will also provide a five-belt Rolling Road System and six-component under floor balance. The five-belt Rolling Road System will allow BMW to investigate the dynamic effects of aerodynamic flow and evaluate how aerodynamics impact driver feedback and chassis stability. An endless stainless steel belt, supported by special air bearings, provides unparalleled underbody flow simulation. The six-component under floor balance is a force transducer system that measures the 3 forces and 3 moments generated by the airflow around the car. MTS’ under floor balance system collects an especially rich data set since it has the capability to measure unsteady forces.