Dynamometer Simulation of Braking on Mountain Routes using Elevation Profiles

Mountainous routes provide a challenge to foundation brakes in both fade and wear attributes. Brake dynamometers test programs are employed to emulate different overland routes. These programs are often created from time-based recordings of vehicle data and do not incorporate the topography of the route. Greening Testing Laboratories, Inc. has developed a new technique to incorporate elevation profiles and defined “rules” to create dynamometer simulation programs for various vehicle test routes, including those that contain significant grade changes. The introduction of distance-based rules is advantageous because it allows the creation of a dynamometer control program based upon mathematical inputs, therefore eliminating the need for an instrumented vehicle run prior to developing a dynamometer simulation for that route.