Finding a new test method for Inlay carpets instead of taxi tests

Sammanfattning

This thesis focuses on developing a new and faster test method to evaluate wearin automotive inlay carpets, as an alternative to long taxi tests. Currently, theindustry uses taxi based testing, where carpets are used in real taxis for about1.5 years. However, this method has many limitations. The results depend onhow different drivers use the car, as well as environmental conditions such as dirt,water, salt and stones. Because of this, the results are not consistent. In addition,standard laboratory tests like Taber and Martindale do not properly represent realfoot movement of driving conditions.To solve this problem, a structured product development approach was used. Thisincluded reviewing research papers, studying existing patents and conducting userstudies. A detailed user study was carried out with drivers of different percentileand driving habits. This helped to identify key types of foot movements, such aspivoting, sliding forward and backward, side movements and pedal pressing. Thesefindings were then used to define requirements and develop different design concepts.Based on this, a proof-of-concept (POC) test rig was developed. The setup wasdesigned to simulate real life foot movements, applied loads and environmental conditionslike dirt and stones. Tests were carried out on different carpet materials,including Polyamide (PA) and Polyester (PES).The results show that the new method is able to reproduce some wear patterns,but they are not exactly the same as the taxi tested carpets. Overall, this studyshows that including realistic human foot movement in testing improves the accuracycompared to existing test methods, but more modification and testing are requiredbefore it can be used as an industry standard.