Royal opening for lab
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• Tyres and vehicles can be tested under one roof in consistent, controlled laboratory conditions on exact replicas of road surfaces from around the world at the Fort Dunlop dynamics laboratory — claimed to be the first of its type in Europe — opened by Dunlop tyres manufacturer SP Tyres UK in November.
The opening ceremony was performed by Prince Michael of Kent.
As well as testing on vehicles, new tyre designs can also be run as single tyres on laboratory suspension systems. From the initial prototype stages, the best tyre can be matched to the vehicle by diagnosing the paths of vibrations from the roads, through the tyres, suspension and body to the driver.
The test results will pinpoint the design modifications necessary to produce the precise, highly tuned tyre and suspension system needed for the vehicle.
The laboratory also has extensive facilities for measuring the dynamic properties of tyres, by simulating road driving conditions. The simulated motions from the dynamics machine are fed into a computer mathematic model and compared with actual vehicle manoeuvres on the proving ground.
Vehicle inertia and suspension geometry for this model are provided from the vehicle inertia rig.
All the techniques employed are necessarily advanced and make extensive use of computer-based electronic equipment installed on a mezzanine floor in the 170m2 data analysis and control room.
Any type of vehicle from the heaviest trucks to cars and motorcycles can be accommodated in the 480m2 laboratory — totally designed, developed and operated by in-house engineering talent.
Replicas of worldwide road textures, made in glassreinforced resin, can be attached to test drums to reproduce conditions of noise and ride experienced on any particular surface.