Haldex plans to launch what it says is the world's first UN-ECE-approved rollover control simulator for trailers. The simulator will enable trailer manufacturers to obtain type approval for vehicles equipped with Haldex's EB+ electronic braking system so the vehicles meet the UN-ECE regulations (which include new rules for braking systems) without manufacturers having to carry out their own resource-intensive road testing.
Haldex's EB+ system has incorporated rollover control since 2003. A total of 33 different vehicles types and configurations needed to be certified under the new rules, and in 2009, Haldex completed a complex process of road testing of all of these vehicles types — which is a certification requirement — at a proving ground in Tarragona, Spain.
Based on test data, Haldex developed a simulator and submitted it for validation by the TÜV Nord testing body.
The simulator program has now been certified as conforming to UN-ECE braking regulations and can be used for type approvals of Haldex EB+ equipped vehicles. By choosing Haldex's braking system, trailer manufacturers will be able to use the simulator program to implement faster and more cost-effective development, proving, and approval.
The simulator technology enables various braking systems and configurations to be installed exactly as they would be on a trailer. Simulation of the dynamics of vehicles, tires, and road surface during the defined maneuvers is controlled by a computer program.
The Haldex rollover simulator was launched to European approval authorities at a safety forum January 19, 2010, in Redditch, United Kingdom. Haldex is the first supplier to offer a simulator for this purpose and the first to gain approval under the new UN-ECE rules.