This study presents the development and validation of a muddy water spray apparatus designed to simulate dust contamination on vehicle sensors for sensor cleaning system testing. It is important to have a constant and quantifiable test environment for the vehicle development process. For verifying the apparatus, muddy water, prepared by mixing standardized dust powder, salt, and water to maintain constant contamination test conditions, was sprayed onto glass specimens to evaluate equipment consistency. Deposited dust weight and thickness were measured across multiple spray cycles, with statistical analyses confirming consistent and reliable deposition. Paired t-tests indicated no significant difference between sample positions, demonstrating uniform spray distribution. The apparatus was further applied to individual infrared (IR) cameras to observe performance degradation under dry and wet contamination conditions showing statistically consistent increases in contamination levels.
Application of the system in low-temperature performance testing of sensor cleaning systems on a development vehicle's rearview mirror yielded significant reductions in test time and variability compared to manual methods. These results affirm the apparatus as an effective, quantitative, and reproducible method for contamination simulation, contributing to streamlined and standardized sensor cleaning system development in the automotive industry.