US builds ‘indoor test track’ for heavy trucks

The Heavy Duty Force Testing Facility (HDTF) was revealed in late April, allowing testing of heavy trucks without driving on real highways, operating like a giant treadmill.

Theo Interesting Engineeringtruck testing often faces unstable weather, traffic and road conditions. The new facility eliminates these problems by allowing for repeatable scenarios to be deployed, thereby accelerating the development of advanced freight technology, saving time and costs.

HDTF is equipped with the Model 4701 force measurement system developed by Burke Porter company, including four giant rollers with 600 and 800 horsepower electric motors, allowing simulation of all traffic conditions, from congestion to climbing hills. The system supports 4.5-37 ton trucks, including rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. Wheelbase (distance from front wheel center to rear wheel center) can be adjusted from 2.5 to 7.1 m, suitable for most commercial trucks.

The new facility integrates physical testing with digital simulation. Engineers can compare fuel efficiency between compressed natural gas and diesel, evaluate the impact of transmission adjustments, and measure the effects of traffic light coordination without ever driving away from the building.

Built with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Transportation Technologies, HDTF intends to help the transportation industry reach new levels of efficiency faster by shortening technology development time and reducing the technical and financial risks of new investments. An efficiency increase of just 2-3% can save hundreds of millions of dollars over a decade.

“Medium- and heavy-duty trucks drive the economy. With the new facility, Argonne provides the rigorous, repeatable research and testing environment that industry and government need to bring new technologies to market, thereby reducing transportation costs,” said Claus Daniel, Associate Laboratory Director in ANL’s Advanced Energy Technologies division.