306
K. Kulkarni et al.
Fig. 3 Mid segment car
undergoing air leakage
testing
2.3 Testing Procedure
Vehicle preparation. To identify the unintended leakage areas and flow rate, one
needs to seal the intended openings. So the first step is to seal the air extractor which
is the only opening that affects the tests and needs to be closed. For closing the air
extractor in most of the vehicles we may need to remove the rear bumper for test
sake.
Before starting the test we need to ensure that vehicle ignition is in off condition.
Air conditioning is in recirculation mode as fresh air entry mode opens to external
environment and lead to leakage of cabin air. All doors and glasses are in closed
condition. If the required vehicle can be mounted on two posters so that it will be
easy to do inspection and detection of leakages in underbody along with other areas.
Body leak tester machine connections and setup. In set up air supply cum pressurizing hose is connected to vehicle through a window by taking glass down and with
the help of customized adapter (Ref. Figure 3). According to vehicle model program
is selected to run the test.
Testing and final reading. Once set up is done, after starting the test, machine
(blower) pressurizes the vehicle cabin to the required pressure and maintains the
constant pressure in cabin. At the same time, flow rate (cubic feet per minute) is
calculated by machine and it will be displayed on a monitor connected to machine
after completion of a cycle. In total three cycles needs to be conducted and final
reading is average of these three readings.
Based on the final reading and market competitor benchmark from the same
segment airlekage improvement target is set. Accordingly, analysis is done and action
plan is deployed.
K. Kulkarni et al.
Fig. 3 Mid segment car
undergoing air leakage
testing
2.3 Testing Procedure
Vehicle preparation. To identify the unintended leakage areas and flow rate, one
needs to seal the intended openings. So the first step is to seal the air extractor which
is the only opening that affects the tests and needs to be closed. For closing the air
extractor in most of the vehicles we may need to remove the rear bumper for test
sake.
Before starting the test we need to ensure that vehicle ignition is in off condition.
Air conditioning is in recirculation mode as fresh air entry mode opens to external
environment and lead to leakage of cabin air. All doors and glasses are in closed
condition. If the required vehicle can be mounted on two posters so that it will be
easy to do inspection and detection of leakages in underbody along with other areas.
Body leak tester machine connections and setup. In set up air supply cum pressurizing hose is connected to vehicle through a window by taking glass down and with
the help of customized adapter (Ref. Figure 3). According to vehicle model program
is selected to run the test.
Testing and final reading. Once set up is done, after starting the test, machine
(blower) pressurizes the vehicle cabin to the required pressure and maintains the
constant pressure in cabin. At the same time, flow rate (cubic feet per minute) is
calculated by machine and it will be displayed on a monitor connected to machine
after completion of a cycle. In total three cycles needs to be conducted and final
reading is average of these three readings.
Based on the final reading and market competitor benchmark from the same
segment airlekage improvement target is set. Accordingly, analysis is done and action
plan is deployed.