Scania will build a wind tunnel in Sweden to test new truck and bus models
September 2, 2010
In a European first, Scania is building an environmental wind tunnel at its research centre in Södertälje, Sweden.
The new tunnel will not only allow engineers to test the aerodynamic efficiency of new trucks and buses, but it will also allow climatic testing of new models.
The new wind tunnel is expected to be completed by 2013, will save engineers time as well as money in testing new models, which currently need to be shipped to locations around the world.
The tunnel will be housed in a 3500 square-metre multi-storey building as part of the Scania Technical Centre.
The new tunnel will have the capability to reproduce environments as diverse and challenging as Antartica in mid-winter or the humidity of the tropics.
“In various stages of the development phase, there are many advantages in being able to test vehicles and individual components independently of seasons and without having to transport them to another climate.
Investing in a wind tunnel will strengthen our competitiveness, since it will make shorter development times and higher product quality possible,” the senior vice president of truck, cab, bus and chassis development, Sven-Åke Edström says.