Project Overview
A Drive-In Climatic Chamber is a large environmental test system designed for full vehicle testing under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. These chambers enable automotive OEMs, EV manufacturers, and research laboratories to validate vehicle performance, durability, and safety across extreme climatic environments. Drive-in climatic chambers are widely used for EV battery testing, ICE vehicle development, and automotive component validation.
A Drive-In Climatic Chamber is designed to accommodate complete vehicles such as passenger cars, SUVs, commercial vehicles, and electric vehicles. Unlike reach-in or walk-in environmental chambers, drive-in systems allow vehicles to be driven directly into the chamber for real-world environmental simulation.
These chambers can reproduce extreme temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and altitude conditions to test vehicle systems such as battery packs, thermal management systems, electronics, HVAC performance, and durability of materials.
A leading Indian automotive OEM commissioned CM Envirosystems to design, manufacture, and install a walk-in climatic chamber integrated with a chassis dynamometer for vehicle development and validation testing.
The chamber was installed at the customer’s Innovation Centre and is used for:
- Development & durability validation
- Pre-certification (Pre-CMVR) testing
- EV and ICE 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers
- Drive-cycle simulation across extreme climates
The system was successfully installed, commissioned, and handed over after full training and acceptance.
The Engineering Challenge
The customer required a fully integrated vehicle test cell capable of:
- Accommodating multiple vehicle platforms
- Integrating a 70 kW chassis dynamometer
- Replicating real-world driving conditions up to 150 km/h
- Maintaining tight climatic tolerances under load
- Operating safely during EV and ICE testing
Dimensional Constraints
Internal chamber size requirement:
6000 mm (W) × 10000 mm (D) × 5000 mm (H)
The chamber had to integrate:
- Dynamometer pit (~6 m length)
- Vehicle cooling blower system
- Exhaust gas collection system
- Observation windows
- Control room interface
Technical Requirements
Environmental Performance
The chamber was required to deliver:
- Temperature Range:-30°C to +60°C
- Steady-State Tolerance:±1°C at nozzle outlet under heat load
- Dynamic Tolerance:±2°C during transient conditions
- Ramp Rate:5°C/min across full range
- Humidity Range:15%–95% RH
- Humidity Tolerance:±5% RH
- Fresh Air System:1000 m³/h with -15°C dew point
- Emergency Extraction Fan:15000 m³/h
The system also had to handle:
- 13 kW dyno motor heat load
- 6 kW vehicle heat load
- Up to 2 vehicles ≤ 2000 kg combined
CME’s Engineering Solution
1. Optimized Walk-In Structure
CME engineered a reinforced panel construction walk-in system (MWC-300K platform) with:
- Ceiling-mounted air treatment unit
- Manual double-wing main door (3000 × 3000 mm)
- Large observation windows for test monitoring
- Structural reinforcement frame (as shown in preliminary drawing)
The airflow schematic (Sheet 2) ensured uniform conditioned air distribution across the vehicle test zone
2. Integrated Dyno & Climate Control
The chamber was designed around the dynamometer envelope, ensuring:
- Controlled airflow replication aligned with dyno requirements
- Nozzle-based delivery for precise vehicle-level temperature control
- Stable performance at steady state with vehicle load
The vehicle cooling blower replicated speeds up to 150 km/h as required in the SOR
3. Advanced Safety Architecture
Given EV + ICE testing risks, CME integrated:
- Door interlocks
- Emergency stop systems
- CO, CO₂, and HC gas monitoring
- Pressure balancing system
- Emergency extraction (15,000 m³/h)
- Emergency power backup for control & safety systems
Safety signages, SOPs, and work instructions were implemented during commissioning
4. Digital & Documentation Deliverables
The customer required:
- Complete mechanical & electrical drawings
- Layout diagrams
- SOP documentation
- PLC spare I/O modules (30% expansion capacity)
- 10+ year service support commitment
CME delivered full documentation, training, and successful FAT/SAT sign-off.
Optional Solar Simulation Integration
Provision was engineered for Phase-2 solar simulation system integration including:
- Up to 1200 W/m² irradiation
- ±10% uniformity
- Motorized tilt and height adjustment
This ensured future-ready vehicle thermal validation capability.
Project Outcome
Successfully installed and commissioned
Full vehicle validation cycles achieved from -30°C to +60°C
Stable performance under dyno + vehicle heat load
End-user training completed
Acceptance signed post operational validation
The chamber now supports:
- EV and ICE development testing
- Durability drive cycles
- Pre-certification climatic validation
- Multi-model vehicle testing
Strategic Impact
This project demonstrates CME’s capability in:
- Large-scale automotive walk-in systems
- Dyno-integrated environmental test cells
- EV-safe climatic infrastructure
- High heat-load precision control
Turnkey design-to-commissioning execution
Drive-In Climatic Chambers are widely used across the automotive and mobility sectors for vehicle validation and environmental testing.
Typical applications include:
• EV battery and thermal management testing
• Vehicle cold start and hot soak testing
• Cabin HVAC performance testing
• EV charging validation under temperature extremes
• Emissions and durability testing for ICE vehicles
• Autonomous vehicle sensor validation
