Renault PSA and Magna work with IceMakers

"Without Arjeplog, ABS, electronic stability system (ESP) and the traction of wheels (ASR) could never have be developed": Frédéric Renaud often makes in this small town of 2,000 people lost in the heart of Swedish Lapland. It tests for Bosch innovations coming to equip future Renault and Nissan. From December to late March, almost all of the manufacturers and automotive OEMs are found in this region close to the Arctic circle where the temperature often flirts with - 20 degrees. "90 of the companies working in this sector are here", summarizes Wilhelm strings, the Director of the BMW test centre. The Munich constructor, Daimler, Porsche and Volkswagen have their own infrastructure in place, like Continental, Bosch and TRW. Other marks are a good dozen of local companies who are preparing for them tracks on frozen lakes. Fiat, General Motors and Mando Korean trust Colmis. Renault, PSA and Magna work with IceMakers. And Delphi or Hyundai are among Cartest AB. "Nearly 2,000 cars are tested each winter in the region", says Lars Holmgren, Director of the centre for testing ATM used by Bosch. And say that it all started in the 1980s by a simple chance.

8.700 Lakes and rivers

"Some guys Opel and Daimler wanted a place where to test the first generation of ABS brakes and they fell on the runway that David Sundström and Per Axel Andersson had built on a frozen City Lake, remembers Johan Fjellström, the founder of the"Arjeplog Times".". Bosch has also found great site and other manufacturers have followed. "The region has, it is true, all the qualities required to push their limits of vehicles in extreme conditions. "Is it cold in a constant way four months of the year", summarizes Christof Johann, a TV producer accustomed place. "The mountains a little more to the North hold any moisture, complete Mr. ropes." Snow falls are thus very low, which facilitates maintenance of the frozen tracks. "And the municipality, which covers 13,000 square kilometres, is a little less than half of the surface of the Belgium, includes the bagatelle of 8.727 Lakes and rivers that turn all into a skating rink in the run-up to Christmas. Local expertise has also simplified the lives of builders. "People here know very well prepared ice because it is more than a century that forest transport their timber on the roads in winter", adds Mr. Fjellström.

The continuous arrival motor brands and their subcontractors has created "from the 1980s a veritable"cluster"", provides Mr. Holmgren. "Truck door-cars, gas stations, restaurants, the hotel... everything is there, notes Mr. Johann.". A travel agency specialized, FlyCar, even handles the chartering of the charters. "During the winter, several weekly flights connect and Lapland to Munich, where be found BMW, and Frankfurt, the city nearest Opel. Another air link takes off from Stuttgart, the city of Daimler and Porsche, to stop in Hanover to VW engineers and Continental.

High concentration

In aircraft, competitors, suppliers and the paparazzi are thus often sitting next to each other. This proximity may surprise, but it is logical. "The builders know that, if they have a problem with one of their vehicles to Arjeplog, they will find a subcontractor to help the 60 kilometres around," outbid Mr. Renaud. In the Swedish North is also an ideal way to keep abreast of the latest technologies. "Customers come before to us move in Bosch and Continental, said Joseph Pickenhahn, the Vice-President of the activities of braking of TRW." They can know everything that happens in a minimum of time. "No major innovation can be marketed without having been previously tested in Lapland.

"There is more more electronics in vehicles and these components are very sensitive to low temperatures, analysis Mr. cords.". Therefore, analyze here. "The ice is also essential to try new braking and traction control systems. "Brake liquids lose of their viscosity with cold", notes Mr. Pickenhahn. "And then the frozen lakes are the surface that offers a minimum adhesion, argued Mr. Renaud.". They are therefore ideal for the road behaviour of a vehicle. "Test centres thus include more or less steep slopes, large loops and long straight lines for"torturing"cars. "We have also heated on one side and chilled the other roads to see if a prototype patina in these extreme conditions adds the pattern of the centre of BMW." We keep in our 18 containers refrigerated cars to see if the ice can block their direction. "All the new models and the tyre must also be tested by extreme cold. "It is important, ensures Philipp Wänninger, an engineer of the mark to the propeller.". For example, we must ensure that shocks do not squeal by-30 degrees Celsius. "Brands must also think of their foreign clients. "We sell our vehicles in the world and we must ensure that our customers in Russia for example will not issue at the wheel of one of our models, explains Christophe Deville, a spokesman for Renault." We thus drive long distances to check that the snow is not unable in the braking system. "The future of Arjeplog seems assured.

New areas of research

Builders will indeed never stop to launch new cars. And the engineers were still full of innovations in their cartons to be tested in Lapland. "Hybrid and electric vehicles are meaningful only if we manage to recover braking energy.". By slowing down, friction against platelet creates heat, which may be directed to an alternator recharge batteries for automobiles, note Mr. Renaud. We have already developed a system that increases by 15 the autonomy of an electric car. But this is just a start. However, all these new products should be tested in Arjeplog, because we must ensure that the braking heat recovery does not endanger the stability of the vehicle. And driving on ice is ideal for this. "Another great axis of research for years to come is the interaction of systems for assisting the driving with detectors of proximity such as radar and infrared cameras. "The car will be soon able to detect a pedestrian and curb automatically in danger, adds Bosch engineer." And, like in terms of braking must be validated on low-adhesion surfaces, we test these innovations in Lapland. "Arjeplog will long remain the preferred winter station of vehicle manufacturers around the world.