Indoor crush tests
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• Crush tests of vehicles of up to 24 tons to meet the legal requirements of any country can be performed in the new impact test house of the Motor Industry Research Association that was officially opened on Friday by Mr. Anthony Wedgwood-Benn, Minister of Technology.
Propelled by a linear electric motor travelling under the floor on a rail, the trolley to which the vehicle is attached is accelerated at lg to a speed of 30 mph over a distance up to 170ft and crashed into a 100-ton concrete block.
Because the tests were carried out indoors they were not affected by vagaries of the weather. The system could be used for testing up to 50 mph and its notable advantages include a consistent impact velocity within the limits specified by the new American safety regulations.
Accelerometers and other instruments are carried in the vehicle together with "event markers" that indicate for example when the engine impacts on the bulkhead or the occupants come into contact with the vehicle interior. Cine-cameras arc carried in the vehicles to make slow motion records of the behaviour of vehicle parts, and occupants and other cinecameras record the impact from outside.
Built by AEI, the linear motor developes 450 hp and is the largest motor of this type to be built in the United Kingdom. Providing a straight line movement along a stationary reaction plate, linear motors will probably be employed for hovertrains.