After three years in the making, the new two-part addition to the BMW Group’s Research and Innovation Centre, FIZ, is now going into operation. The highlight is the standing wind tunnel – one of the largest and quietest in the world – which is expected to deliver new insights around aeroacoustics, in electric cars especially.

Two blocks for double the benefit. After three years under construction, the Aeroacoustics and E-Drive Centre (AEC) is now ready to go on stream. For maximum functionality, it has been divided into two separate blocks: one housing the world’s largest standing wind tunnel, the other dedicated to vehicle development and electromobility.

Nicole Haft-Zboril, Head of BMW Group Real Estate Management, summed it up: “The new AEC is a unique construction project. To implement such a complex project successfully, construction, development and production had to work closely, along with all our partners and the City of Munich. Lean construction helped us do it.”

To make sure the wind tunnel and its cutting-edge equipment work at their best, the building was subject to special requirements aimed at ensuring optimum acoustics. It was sound-proofed as thoroughly as possible by separating it from the second block and from its surroundings. Every part of the structure contributes, including the approx. 3-metre-thick floor plate that even protects it from exterior noise coming in through the ground.

The second block is multifunctional, housing workshops, testing and measuring equipment, and prototype construction. Its spaces are flexibly designed so they can quickly be adapted and used for different purposes. With over 15,000 square metres of floorspace across several storeys, it is home to development for electromobility.

At 100 metres long, 45 metres high and 25 metres across, the standing wind tunnel in the AEC on the BMW Group’s research campus is the biggest of its kind worldwide. It’s also the quietest, with noise levels roughly equivalent to those of a very quiet air conditioning system or a quiet conversation (54.3 dN(A) at 140 km/h). In addition, it offers a semi-free-field space with a unique frequency range extending from 30 Hz through to the audible spectrum. It’s all made possible by the reverberant floor, which is completely reflection-free. This allows realistic traffic situations to be simulated and airflow noises from driving to be measured extremely accurately.

The state-of-the-art wind tunnel also offers winning performance in terms of aerodynamics: with a fan cross-section of 25 square metres and wind speeds of up to 250 km/h, it can even be used to test the largest and most powerful BMW Group vehicles, such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom or BMW X7. This is done with a fan capacity of 4.5 MW and up to 100,000 m3 of air per minute at 250 km/h.

An acoustic camera comprising 216 microphones enables extremely detailed measurements and the precise location of noises to within a centimetre. The laser vibrometer and an acoustic all-wheel chassis dynamometer completes the cutting-edge equipment package of the new facility, allowing all kinds of traffic situations to be assessed in all weathers. Plus, a range of different modules – such as a glass floor that vehicles can drive on or a weighing scale for motorcycles – can be introduced, without having to move the vehicle.

Thanks to the versatility and flexibility of the wind tunnel, measurements can be taken quickly and efficiently, setting new standards in vehicle development and research.

The second section of the new building is devoted to electromobility. Here, the R&D centre is spread across several floors, providing space for innovation and project development in the field of electrification. The 15,000 square metres are used to develop, manufacture and test prototypes of future high-voltage batteries. An additional 800 square metres are dedicated to engineering a pilot line for inverters – all in clean-room conditions. Inverters convert direct current from high-voltage batteries into alternating current and are a crucial component of electric motors.

At the AEC the combination of research initiatives in acoustics and electromobility brings together two future-facing development areas that are fundamental to tomorrow’s mobility. They both support the BMW Group’s premium standard in technology, innovation and vehicle excellence.

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