NATRiP’s ICAT Centre II inaugurated, India leaps further ahead in automotive testing

The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), today, hosted the inauguration of the new state-of-the-art and modern test facilities installed as a part of the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP). 

The ICAT centre has emerged as a comprehensive technical partner for the automotive industry and currently undertakes the following major activities – homologation and certification as per Indian regulations; testing as per various Indian and global regulations; and developmental and automotive R&D projects.

The facility was inaugurated by Anant G Geete, the minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (MoHI & PE), facilities in presence of  Vishwajit Sahay, joint secretary, Department of Heavy industry; Abhay Damle, joint secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India; Neeti Sarkar, CEO and PD, NATRiP; Dinesh Tyagi, director,ICAT (International Centre for Automotive Technology), along with various dignitaries from the Indian automotive industry.

After the NATRiP project was approved by the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) in July 2005, the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) was set up in 2006. It is the first of the new world-class centres established under NATRiP.

The government of India has recognised ICAT as one of the accredited 'Type Approval and Homologation' agencies in India under Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) 126. It has also been recognised as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), since February 2010, by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for Tyre Testing, Safety Glasses; and by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for Emission and Noise testing of generator sets.

The facility is spread across eight acres (32,376 square metre) at ICAT Centre I and over 46.6 acres (1,87,335 square metre) at ICAT Centre II, with a capital investment of over Rs 1,100 crore.

The new facilities being inaugurated at ICAT’s Centre II include:

Noise Vibration & Harshness (NVH) Lab:
Around Rs 153 crore was invested to create this facility to support Indian and Global automotive industry for product development and R&D activities in the field of Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH).

The NVH lab is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as Semi Anechoic Rooms with dynamometer capabilities for PVs and HCVs, modal analysis room, coupled acoustic rooms and listening room. The Passenger Car Semi-Anechoic Chamber has the capability to simulate external Pass by Noise test for development of vehicles to meet present and future regulatory requirements.

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Lab:
Around Rs 70 crore has been invested to create this facility to support the Indian and global automotive industry for certification and R&D in the field of EMC. Electromagnetic Compatibility is the ability of a vehicle or electrical/electronic component to function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic environment.

The EMC lab is NABL (ISO 17025) accredited. It is specially designed to carry out testing and development activities related to automotive EMC applications. It has a Vehicle Semi-Anechoic Chamber (VSAC) (a 30x20x10 metre chamber with an 11-metre diameter turntable and a 4x4 chassis dynamometer) for accommodating all types of vehicles ranging from two-wheelers to heavy commercial vehicles for electromagnetic emissions and immunity.

It also has a Component Semi-Anechoic Chamber (CSAC) (8.5x7x6 metres) for testing of electromagnetic emissions and immunity for electrical/electronic components of a vehicle. It is also equipped with a General Instrumentation room for component level tests like Conducted Immunity, Conducted Transient Emissions and Electrostatic Discharge.

Passive Safety Lab (PSL):
The NABL (ISO 17025) accredited Passive Safety Lab (PSL) is capable of performing Crash Tests, Pedestrian Protection Tests and Sled Tests as per various Indian, International and NCAP regulations (including Bharat NCAP). The government has invested around Rs 68 crore for the PSL facility, which will support Indian and global automotive industry for certification and R&D in the field of Passive Safety.

The lab is equipped with world-class test facilities, which includes full-fledged crash test facilities to conduct Full Frontal, Frontal OBD, Side Impact, and Rear Impact crash tests, among others, as per Indian and International regulations. It has all types of instrumented crash dummies, with dummy calibration facility, high-speed cameras, specialised lightings, onboard data acquisition system, soak room, pedestrian protection test facility, deceleration sled test facility and airbag test facility among others.

Tyre Test Lab (TTL):

The Tyre Test Lab (TTL) is NABL (ISO 17025) accredited and approved by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). It provides services related to Type Approval and Conformity of Production of Tyres as per AIS:037 (CMVR). ICAT has transformed this lab into Centre of Excellence (CoE) by developing new capabilities including the installation of Dual Station Endurance Test Rig and Tyre Rolling Resistance Test Rig as per ECE R117 and AIS:142.