Research and Testing

• ARL-A holds a unique and autonomous position, enabling the laboratory to more easily share and distribute knowledge with industry and partners, including HAN’s Automotive Education Department.
• ARL-A is a part of HAN Automotive Institute, which includes the Mobility Research Group, the Vehicle Mechatronics Research Group, the Vehicle Acoustics Research Group and HAN’s degree courses in automotive engineering.

Interest

Within ARL-A there are two fields of interest: Vehicle Technology (Power Trains and Vehicle Road Behaviour) and Internal Combustion Engines.  

Research Facilities

ARL- A has several excellent research facilities, including:

• Mercedes C180 with a Correvit Datron system for qualification of the vehicle road behaviour
• DAF-Paccar test engine, with AdBlue/Ureum

Virtual Prototyping

The use of digital Virtual Prototyping has been adopted from industry to enable new product development. In Virtual Prototyping, software is used to create a mathematical description of an object: a vehicle, for example. ARL-A has the expertise and facilities to validate virtual models using ISO standard experiments that help to describe their dynamic behaviour. ARL-A performs Virtual Prototyping experiments on the request of SMEs and industry players.

Examples are: 

• A bulk truck from VOS Logistics.
• An ambulance with an air suspension or VB air suspension rear axle.

In both cases, practical measurements have been conducted to validate a mathematical model.
ARL-A performs research and studies in the field of internal combustion engines on behalf of SMEs and industry players. An example of an internal study conducted by ARL-A is the development of an internal combustion engine running on blends of natural gas and hydrogen.

Other projects are dedicated to engine performance in relation to fuel consumption, emissions and performances. Projects and orders can be done with or without students, depending on the demands of the principal.