Inside Saab Series Archives

Video: Wind tunnel

Welcome to the third film in a series of “Inside Saab” videos – a 10-part mini-series on what goes on in various departments here at Saab Automobile.

When people think “wind tunnel” then generally think of aerodynamics. That’s not the case here. Saab’s wind tunnel isn’t an aero chamber, but a climate chamber which serves a very different function.

This video takes you inside Saab’s climate wind tunnel, where they can recreate a wide variety of climatic conditions for vehicle testing. There are solar lamps and heat exchangers in the tunnel that can vary the temperature from a hot desert sun to far northern winter conditions.

Saab do testing in these natural environments, of course, but having the climate wind tunnel allows you a lot of flexibility in doing repeatable testing on different parts. Many of you live in places where the weather can be quite variable from day to day. The climate wind tunnel eliminates this variation and vehicle testing engineers can be sure that the climate conditions are the same over and over again, for each test they perform.

Enjoy this peek into Saab’s climate wind tunnel.

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In case you missed the first two instalments, they are available at the following links:

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Saab safety – Film and Photo

It’s time for video #2 in our special “Inside Saab” series of videos.

A few weeks ago we brought you a ‘live’ crash test of a Saab 9-5 SportCombi. You got to see and hear what a crash test looks like without all the slo-mo images and with full sound, which is a pretty rare insight. Last week you got to meet one of our crash test dummies. It was a special look at what is a much more sophisticated piece of equipment than many people realise. Today, we tie these together and take a look at the film and lighting systems used for crash test videos.

Light is a key element of any form of photography or videography. When you’re filming at 1,000 frames per second, adequate lighting is crucial in order to ensure that the impact of the test can be properly assessed after the event.

As you’ll see below, Saab’s crash test facility has a lighting system that was built in consultation with experts in the field from Hollywood. It’s a system that is unique to Saab and we like to make best use of it.

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Saab Safety – Crash Test Dummies

They’re a key part of Saab’s staff. It’s only a small team and they’re the most overworked and underpaid ‘people’ in the company. They risk life and limb every time they go to work in order to protect you as best as possible.

They are, of course, Saab’s crash test dummies.

Some key crash test dummy facts……

The dummy family includes a 95th percentile male weighing approximately 100kg and standing 1.9 meters. Also included is a 50th percentile male weighing 80kg and standing 1.75 meters.
The ‘youngest’ dummy is a one year old baby, but there are also three year-old and six year-old ‘children’ in the dummy family.
There are different types of dummies that are set up specifically for different types of tests – side, rear and front impact.
Dummies use a variety of sensors to measure movement and compression in a variety of tests.
Tests involving dummies are conducted around three or four times per week. Up to 200 tests per year involve the use of crash test dummies.
There are also tests without dummies, usually measuring load shifting within a vehicle on impact. Weight boxes are usually used for these tests.
According to the standard, every dummy has to be re-calibrated after a maximum of ten tests. Saab re-calibrate dummies after seven tests, or after six months (whichever comes first).
Due to their cost, dummies tend to be upgraded to meet new standards rather than scrapped and replaced.
New dummies cost approx 1,500,000 Swedish krona each.

Next time you jump in your Saab, take some assurance from the fact that you’re driving one of the safest cars that money can buy. And spare a thought for the hard working crash test dummies at Saab that helped make them that way.