Technical Paper
Development of a Climate and Altitude Simulation Test Bench for Handheld Power Tools
2018-10-30
2018-32-0033
A climate and altitude conditioning test bench was developed at the Institute of Energy Efficient Mobility (IEEM) of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences to evaluate the overall sustainability of using innovative biofuels in handheld power tools such as chainsaws, trimmers and blowers under any typical operating condition worldwide. The 6 m3 hermetically sealed and thermally insulated test chamber is large enough to fit the entire power tool. A two-stage refrigeration system with intake air drying and electric heating allows for realistic temperature conditions to be set in the test chamber, ranging from arctic cold to tropical heat (-28 to 45 °C). Altitudes of up to 3500 m above sea level can be simulated using a throttle valve at the inlet of the chamber and a pressure-controlled rotary screw compressor positioned downstream the test chamber outlet.
