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APV is aiming to support Australia's defence manufacturers in their research, test and evaluation requirements by offering full seat and seat anchorage testing that can now be performed to latest FIA Formula 1 testing regimes – a testing standard not previously available in Australia.
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According Harry Hickling, managing director of the APV Corporation, the recent $3 million investment into test and evaluation capabilities saw the company's latest offering in seat, restraints and anchorage system testing 'coming on stream' in preparation for the land and aerospace programs.
APV can now offer full seat and seat anchorage testing with the latest state of the art mechanical test rig that supports ADR, ECE, FMVS, FIA and SAE related standards, Hickling added, as the level of testing capability has not previously been available in Australia and can be performed to latest FIA Formula 1 testing regimes.
"This means that we can support Australian seat manufacturers during the development of energy absorbing seating for aerospace and protected land vehicles," Hickling said.
"Existing customers as well as new entrants in the market supporting the LAND 400 Phase 3, Infantry Fighting Vehicle will now have a research, test and evaluation partner in APV to stand beside them through the product engineering, development, test, evaluation, and certification phases."
APV has a long history in testing seats and safety restraints to the latest international standards and this continues in 2022 with a new Mechanical Static Test Rig, developed by Aries in Spain to meet a range of mechanical test requirements. The $500,000 investment has been supported in part by the APV TECSA services SICP Grant, which included the latest high-speed, high-definition Phantom v2640 Camera (25,000 fps), data acquisition and mechanical test capabilities, as well as up-skilling the team in Defence test and evaluation methodologies, planning and execution.
While dynamic testing is, and remains, critical in proving the crashworthiness and functionality of seats and safety restraints, new requirements drive opportunities to invest and improve the offerings from APV’s world-class testing facilities.
The new Mechanical Static Test Rig will support testing (in both tension and compression modes) of motorsport seats to the new FIA 8855-2021, and for Occupant Restraint Systems to SAE J2292, ADR 4/06, ECE R14/08, FMVSS 207 & 210.
With load cells in each of the four hydraulic cylinders, 400mm of stroke supporting an actuator speed up to 150mm/sec, and flexibility in the configuration and angle for force application, other novel testing can be considered where loads of up to 20kN per cylinder may be required.
With the addition of this new equipment APV can offer comprehensive testing on all types of seating and restraints for land, sea,and air. Aircraft, ships, ferries, trucks, buses, trains, forklifts and other special purpose machines such as mining vehicles, can all be catered for at APV.
Hickling further explained that during 2021 the company had some great examples of working with Australian bus and seat manufacturers in a collaborative manner to resolve design issues and to pass the stringent Australian crash/dynamic test and evaluation requirements.
"We want to apply this same collaborative approach to support the Defence air, land, and sea domains," Hickling concluded.
"This fits perfectly with our vision of partnering with Defence, primes and SMEs to mitigate risk and deliver world class solutions for our next generation platforms by being the partner of choice for advanced research, simulation, environmental, mechanical, photography, data acquisition and dynamic engineering and testing services."
[Related: Leonardo Australia secures Part 145 approval]
