Tenneco has announced its participation in Project EVE (Innovative Engineering of Ground VEhicles with Integrated Active Chassis Systems). EVE is an EU-funded project that will develop high-tech ground vehicle systems.
Companies and partners involved in the project will develop innovative vehicle components that target improvements in safety, energy efficiency and driving comfort. The development will also include new hardware subsystems for brakes, active suspension and tire pressure control for on-road and off-road mobility. A unique network-distributed vehicle testing program for integrated chassis systems will be set-up between all partners. Project EVE is part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.
“The invitation to participate in this prestigious project recognizes Tenneco’s expertise in active suspension technology based on the development of our ACOCAR (Active Suspension Car) system,” said Timothy Jackson, chief technology officer, Tenneco. “We are proud to contribute our experience in advanced research, development, design for manufacturing and testing to this academic and industrial partnership.”
Tenneco’s ACOCAR system is a lightweight, fully-active, low power consumption suspension system. The system uses a combination of actuators, electronic valves and electro-hydraulic power packs to manage the oil flow through the shock absorbers to control roll, pitch and heave.
Project EVE began in January 2015. Partners, to date, are: Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany; the University of Pretoria, South Africa; TU Delft, The Netherlands; Chalmers University, Sweden; Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, U.S.A.; Gerotek Test Facilities, Pretoria, South Africa; SKF’s Automotive Development Centre, Göteborg, Sweden; dSPACE, Paderborn, Germany; The Instituto Tecnológico de Aragón, Spain and ESTEQ, South Africa.