Clark Testing’s Propulsion Laboratory provides system integration and simulation for transportation and transit vehicles prior to field-testing or deployment. The lab fully integrates propulsion, braking, resistance and control systems, reproducing the environmental conditions a vehicle will encounter in the field.

The propulsion lab can simulate acceleration, deceleration, braking, dwell time along with dynamic and static profiles as designated by field data acquisition. The power distribution system feeds a rack mounted propulsion system connected to the drive and resistance motors through an underground channel.

The Propulsion Lab conducts traction testing to evaluate the vehicle’s traction performance such as load-speed characteristic curve) in different running configurations (normal and degraded):

• Acceleration tests (from static to Vmax).
• Brake tests (from Vmax to static).
• Profile Run
• Resistance Tests
• Hill Start Tests
• Adherence tests
• Residual acceleration tests
• Jerk monitoring tests