The new Aeroacoustics and Electric Drive Center (AEC) starts operations at the BMW Group's Research and Innovation Center (FIZ). After almost forty years, the old aeroacoustic wind tunnel is being replaced by BMW. The building consists of two halves: In addition to a multifunctional part with workshop, testing and measurement equipment and a prototype for high-voltage batteries and inverters, the AEC has a technically and structurally unique wind tunnel. With a length of just under 100 m, a height of 45 m and a width of 25 m, it is the world's largest vertical acoustic wind tunnel and at the same time the quietest.
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MotorTranscript
00:00We had big challenges in the construction period, on the one hand material price increases,
00:16shortages of materials on the construction site, but also changing requirements of our users.
00:19In order to be flexibly set up in the long term for the future topic of electromobility,
00:27all areas for the production were multifunctionally set up.
00:30Therefore, we can respond flexibly to various requirements and have the maximum freedom of design
00:37for the future of our product development.
00:42My personal highlight was when a wind tunnel was built out of this building.
00:46The large drive, which you can see behind me, was lifted with the help of large construction cranes.
00:51And now we are proud that we were allowed to design a part of the future of the BMW Group with this building.
01:08We have built the quietest vehicle wind tunnel in the world here in Munich.
01:13For us acousticians, quiet is a premium.
01:16Repeat it again.
01:17Quiet is a premium.
01:20Our focus is on the product optimization of battery-electric vehicles.
01:25The customer really wants to have quiet vehicles.
01:33How is it characterized?
01:35We have characterized it.
01:37At 140 km h, it should be as quiet as the quietest channels in the world.
01:44We acoustically bring the situation from the street to the test site.
01:48This means that we have reflections from the floor and no other reflections from the walls and ceiling.
01:54We can do this here in this test site from 30 Hz.
01:57We thus cover the entire audible frequency range.
02:05The nozzle is 6.25 m wide, 4 m high and a total of 25 m².
02:12This means that we can securely secure the smallest products we have, but also the largest products in our portfolio.
02:19They should feel like they are on the street outside.
02:31Another really cool feature in our new wind tunnel is the acoustic camera.
02:36With over 216 microphones, we can accurately detect the location of the sound.
02:42And this with an accuracy of less than 1 cm.
02:49The frequently changed analysis methods here in the wind tunnel are supported by an extremely fast switching time of the floor modules of less than 9 minutes.
02:56The special thing about this is that the test vehicle can remain fully equipped here in the wind tunnel,
03:02is briefly lifted by a vehicle lift and the floor modules are automatically switched.
03:08The integration of an all-wheel acoustic rolling test stand with a rolling diameter of 2 m is special here in the wind tunnel.
03:14It is installed in the plenum cellar below and can be integrated into the turntable here in the plenum if necessary.
03:20Regardless of the wind and weather, we can carry out analyses of wind and rolling sounds.
03:25We are building and testing new high-voltage batteries for future electric vehicles.
03:30For this purpose, we have 15,000 m² of production area available on several floors.
03:39The special thing about this production site is that we can use the wind tunnel as a wind tunnel
03:45under clean room conditions.
03:49The inverter itself is, so to speak, the heart of the electric powertrain.
03:54And technically, it converts the direct current that we get from the high-voltage storage into alternating current and thus drives the e-machine.
04:04By moving to the AEZ in Vitz, we are even closer to the wind tunnel.
04:10This way, we can make even better use of our synergy.