With a loud roar, an electric car is rammed into from behind. A battery suspended from a crane is dropped. The battery distorts like pancake batter with a thunderous sound. This is daily life at the Automotive Safety Research Institute. This is a hell of automotive testing aimed at creating safe vehicles.
On the 23rd, I participated in a tech tour organized for the Korean Automotive Journalists Association and visited the Automotive Safety Research Institute. Established in 1987 as the Automotive Performance Testing Laboratory, it was designated as an official vehicle testing agency by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in September of the same year. It has seven automotive testing buildings and twelve driving test tracks. To prepare for the era of autonomous driving, it has also installed nine testing environments for Level 3 and Level 4 driving tests, with preparations underway for environments suitable for Level 4+.
The first place visited was the crash testing facility. A white Audi e-tron was stationed. A self-certification compliance crash test was conducted to assess if Audi’s submitted documentation met the safety standards. This experiment involved crashing into the rear of the Audi e-tron at a speed of 48 km/h. Engineers from Audi Korea also attended the crash test. Researcher Jang Hyung-jin from the Safety Research Department stated, “To prevent manufacturers from lodging objections, their technicians accompany the crash tests.”
As the dark crash test area was illuminated with LED lights, the test vehicle came racing in like an angry wild boar and struck the rear of the e-tron hard. With a loud crash, the e-tron was pushed back due to inertia, rolling to a halt.
Test personnel were busily inspecting the condition of the vehicle. The rear bumper was completely crushed, and the back showed some deformation from the impact. The dummy in the cabin showed slight disarray but remained seated in an upright position. Of course, the extent of injuries for the cabin occupants can only be determined by examining the damage data attached to the vehicle and the dummies.
On the way to the next testing facility, a row of crumpled cars from the crash tests was passed, their shapes unrecognizable. The vehicles, with their paint stripped away, showed visible signs of rust.
Researcher Jang explained, “Even after the testing results, manufacturers often file objections, so the vehicles used in tests are stored for a year.” After that, the cars are sent straight to the scrapyard without hesitation.
Next, we visited the electromagnetic compatibility testing facility. The facility is a large space covered in white tiles. Inside stood a Kona electric vehicle. Electromagnetic testing involves installing cameras in the vehicle to monitor the electromagnetic frequencies emitted during operation and ensuring compliance with governmental standards. Additionally, it checks if the emissions conform to human safety standards. While most vehicles pass electromagnetic tests, there are instances where about 10% may not meet government standards during the development phase.
Then we moved to the battery drop testing facility. This is where electric car batteries are tested by being dropped to ascertain if they pose any explosion risks. This test was created in response to the rising concerns about battery issues leading to fires resulting from electric car accidents. A massive electric vehicle battery was prepared to be dropped from a height of 4.8 meters using a crane.
Safety goggles were put on due to the risk of debris flying during the drop. With the researcher warning that “a heavy metal mass dropping to the ground creates an enormous noise,” I plugged my ears with two fingers.
With a signal, the battery, which was precariously hanging by a white rope, dropped to the ground with a thunderous noise as it succumbed to the law of gravity. The battery stuck to the ground like thrown dough. No chemical substances leaked from the battery. This drop test, unique to South Korea, was benchmarked from domestic tests that were established after a review conducted in China in 2013.
The battery drop test aims to determine if battery fluids can spill and cause explosions upon impact. Battery durability tests involve removing the battery from electric vehicles sold domestically and conducting up to twelve rigorous tests, including drop tests and submersion tests. Senior researcher Moon Bo-hyun explained, “The submersion test with seawater examines if it explodes due to salinity. There was an incident where an EV6 got stuck in mud on Daebudo Island, but it was perfectly fine afterward. You can drive with peace of mind.”
Next, we took a bus to the weather simulation facility. This facility is located within the Level 4 autonomous driving test environment. It has a 300-meter-long tunnel where experiments simulating reduced visibility conditions from rain, fog, and nighttime driving can be conducted. We alternated between fog and rain experiments while traversing through the 300-meter tunnel by bus. The fog-covered tunnel made visibility virtually nonexistent.
Min-seong Kim from K-CITY emphasized the facility’s excellence, stating, “We have the capability to intensify the fog to the point where nothing can be seen.” In fact, there was an incident where a tourist bus collided within the fog simulation course of the tunnel.
Finally, we observed an emergency braking test with a bus. It involved observing if a 45-seater bus would stop correctly in front of a dummy placed 600 meters away. The bus came racing at 80 km/h but managed to stop right in front of the dummy without baling.
Lee Myung-soo from the Autonomous Driving Research Department shared, “If there is an obstacle and the driver is incapacitated, primary braking is engaged. If the driver’s intent to brake is absent even at the final warning stage, more braking force is applied to bring the vehicle to a stop.” He also mentioned, “The lidar and sensors in front of the bus recognize obstacles up to 90 meters ahead to handle potential accidents.”
Due to their extensive efforts, the Automotive Safety Research Institute increased the number of recall-targeted vehicles from 2 million in 2019 to 3.24 million in 2022. Kim Seong-seob, head of the Safety Policy Division, explained, “At this transitional point where automotive technology is shifting from internal combustion to electrification, the number of review items has increased, leading to more recalls.”
While there is a lot to examine, they face challenges due to a lack of budget and personnel. The annual budget for investigating manufacturing defects is only 7.2 billion won, with 4 billion going to vehicle purchases. Since hundreds of new models are released yearly, testing them all is impossible. Ultimately, they respond actively to around 6,000 consumer reports received annually. A notable example is the recall initiated following the discovery of the oil backflow issue in the hybrid engine of the Kia Sorento.
The Automotive Safety Research Institute stated, “With insufficient personnel, we cannot test all vehicles, but we respond actively to consumer reports.” Additionally, they added, “We aim to facilitate free repairs and recalls through active discussions between manufacturers and consumers to contribute to national efforts.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr