GM Milford Proving Ground Site Overview. Frank J. Taverna, P.E. Engineering Group Manager MPG Vehicle Development Technical Support Group

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1 GM Milford Proving Ground Site Overview Frank J. Taverna, P.E. Engineering Group Manager MPG Vehicle Development Technical Support Group

2 General Motors Milford Proving Ground The Crown Jewel of Vehicle Testing

3 General Motors Vision: Design, Build and Sell the World s Best Vehicles

4 General Motors Global Vehicle Engineering Integration,Test Labs and Proving Grounds Footprint - Integration Teams - Proving Ground and Test Facilities Milford (USA) Warren (USA) Millbrook (England) PATAC Shanghai (China) Bupyeong (S. Korea) Yuma (USA) Kapuskasing (Canada) CREC (Canada) SGM Guangde (China) Cheongna (S. Korea) Rüsselsheim (Germany) TREC (Mexico) Dudenhofen (Germany) GM (India) Cupuan (Mexico) Melbourne (Australia) Cruz Alta (Indaiatuba Brazil) Sao Caetano (Brazil) Lang-Lang (Australia)

5 Milford Proving Ground The Crown Jewel of Vehicle Testing

6 A rich past, beginning in 1924 The first dedicated automobile test facility

7 Engineering Excellence Outside Barrier Test Test Documentation Fuel Economy Noise and Vibration Uneven Blocks Water Intrusion Motion Study

8 Today The worlds most technologically advanced proving ground 4,000 Acres 4,500 Employees 142 Building Structures 132 Miles of Roads Over 15,000,000 Miles driven annually Over 300 Full Scale Crash Tests per Year

9 Vehicle Dynamics Test Area Black Lake 67 Acres (about 59 football fields) 3 Low coefficient surfaces Vehicle Dynamic Testing Sine with Dwell Fish Hook Lane Change Max Lat Black Lake - Nicknamed because water fowl often try to land on it.believing the surface is water. Snow removal in winter, a 4-5 day process:

10 Circular Test Track 4.8 Miles Circumference 5 Lanes Parabolic Top Lane 30 percent bank angle, 100 mph minimum speed Opened November 22, 1963 Planned repave in 2016

11 Milford Road Course Test track built for vehicle chassis high speed development: Built in miles 17 turns 55 ft of elevation change Evaluate vehicle limit performance with combined vertical, lateral and longitudinal accelerations at wide range of speeds Design of the Milford Road Course Joseph P. Ryan, Michael W. Neal, James W. Mero, Frank J. Taverna General Motors Corporation Copyright 2005 SAE International ABSTRACT The Milford Road Course is a new 2.9 mi (4.6 km), 20 turn, configurable closed course with 135 ft (41 m) of elevation change, constructed at the General Motors Proving Ground in Milford, MI, USA. This facility provides a convenient and safe venue for engineers to evaluate vehicle limit performance over extensive combinations of vertical, lateral and longitudinal acceleration at a wide range of speeds. This paper discusses the vehicle dynamics aspects of the facility design, simulation and construction. INTRODUCTION High performance vehicles require comprehensive development at high speed and race track conditions. Increasing use of Electronic Stability Control systems requires development and validation at limit handling conditions for many types of vehicles. In the winter of 2001, GM management realized the vehicle development process could be improved by the addition of a high performance test track. The Vehicle Dynamics development group was renting race tracks in several states to perform high performance vehicle development and testing. The group was organizing at least two development trips per year to the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany. Management believed the development process could be made more efficient, saving time, money, and vehicle resources, by creating a test facility to bring some of this development work in house. In late 2002, design work on the Milford Road Course (MRC) began. DESIGN TEAM The design of the MRC was the product of very close cooperation between a Vehicle Dynamics team and a Civil Engineering team. The Civil Engineering team consisted of Proving Ground facility engineers and the Washington Group International. The Vehicle Dynamics team developed facility requirements based on vehicle development and testing needs. The Civil Engineering team took the requirements and executed the site and road design. As challenges arose, the teams worked together to further develop or modify the MRC design. PLAN VIEW DESIGN The Vehicle Dynamics team reviewed race tracks used by GM for test and development. These included Grattan Raceway, Virginia International Raceway, Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Watkins Glen International, Road Atlanta, Putnam Park Road Course, Mosport International Raceway, Sebring International Raceway, Gingerman Raceway, Road America and Nurburgring Nordschleife. Favorite features from each were compiled. An existing 1.9 mi (3.1 km) oval test road at the Milford Proving Ground was identified as the location for the new course. The 200 acre site was studied for existing roads, structures and topography. Features from the race track list were used as patterns to create a continuous circuit that fit inside the existing oval roadway. The new road sequences were developed to provide meaningful vehicle dynamics operation for a wide range of vehicles, from Aveo to Corvette. Vehicle Dynamics events designed into the MRC are shown in Table 1. Speeds in excess of 100 mph (161 km/h) are reached in multiple sections of the full course configurations. Near vehicle top speed is achievable on the Front Straight. Use of any full course configuration is limited to GM Level 2 drivers with a 120 mph (193 km/h) restriction, and unrestricted for GM Level 3 certified drivers. Requirements for GM High Performance Drivers are in Appendix A. ALTERNATE CONFIGURATIONS The MRC is designed for clockwise lapping. Plan view layout and turn numbers are shown in Figure 1. Plan view dimensions are shown in Appendix B. To maximize facility utility, new roadway was added to the existing oval track in modular sections. Three variations on full course lapping are possible. Two sub-loops can be used independently and simultaneously.

12 MPG Brake Development Chassis Dyno The Crown Jewel of Vehicle Testing

13 MPG Shows/Demos/Events

14 Milford Proving Ground Future Developments The Crown Jewel of Vehicle Testing

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16 Questions? 16