UN R177 — 01 series of amendments

Paragraph 1.1. applies the Regulation to vehicles that meet all of the criteria (a), (b) and (c). Criterion (b) now reads “Are classified in categories M1 or N1”. At the manufacturer's request, type approval may be granted to “vehicles of category N2 between 3.5 and 5 tonnes maximum mass originating from a type of vehicle of category N1”. Before this series, criterion (b) read “Are classified in category N1, or are classified in category M and have a technically permissible maximum laden mass not exceeding 3,500 kg”.

Each powered axle that provides propulsion under the maximum power condition must be tested “by chassis dynamometer or hub dynamometer or, on request of the manufacturer and with the approval of the Type Approval Authority, on a system bench”. Vehicles powered by two powered axles under the maximum power condition must be tested “on a four-wheel-drive chassis dynamometer, or each powered axle shall be tested simultaneously by hub dynamometer or, on request of the manufacturer and with the approval of the Type Approval Authority, on a system bench”. If a system bench is used in place of a dynamometer, the measurement facilities must be approved by the Type-Approval Authority according to Annex 6. Paragraph 8.1. also permits “a system bench, which may include simulators, in place of a dynamometer without following the provision of Annex 6” for vehicles whose maximum power exceeds that of readily available dynamometers, in the judgment of the Type-Approval Authority. The manufacturer is responsible for the accuracy of determined system power values. Options, methods including test facilities and tolerances given in this regulation must not be used “to under- or overestimate the indicated system power of the vehicle as described in paragraph 8.10”.

New Annex 6 covers the “Approval of the system bench testing facility by the Type-Approval Authority”, and new paragraphs 3.5.11. and 3.6.3. define “Major maintenance” and “Testing Facility”. A system bench must represent “all components of a real vehicle which would be necessary to perform TP1 or TP2 on a chassis dynamometer or hub dynamometer and are necessary to power the wheels including propulsion energy storage system(s), propulsion energy converter(s), peripheral devices, all ECUs, original ECU data and for hybrid electric vehicles the aftertreatment system”. Two vehicles “covering the maximum and minimum outputs of the vehicles planned to be measured within the testing facility” must be selected, and their system power values must be evaluated “by testing with a chassis or hub dynamometer in accordance with the provision laid out in this regulation and by using the system bench facility concerned”. The difference in system power between the system bench and the chassis dynamometer or hub dynamometer is calculated for each tested vehicle. The facility must be approved if this difference is 0.05 or less for each vehicle and the arithmetic average of both differences is within 0.02. The testing facility may be used for system power determination “for five years following the granting of approval, or until major maintenance”, and the approval “is limited to the tested vehicle's architecture”.

During the test, the auxiliaries necessary for the drive train operation in the intended application must be installed “as listed in Table 1 of this Annex for PEV and Table 1 and 2 of this Annex for NOVC-HEV/OVC-HEV”. Table 1 covers the speed variator and control device, liquid-cooling, electric equipment and test bench thermal control. Table 2 covers the intake system, the exhaust system, fuel injection equipment, liquid cooling equipment, electrical equipment, supercharging equipment and anti-pollution devices, among other items. In Table 1, the speed variator and control device and the electric equipment may be standard-production equipment or test bench equipment. Notes to the tables give details on the cooling system, intake and exhaust systems, the air intake valve, charge air cooling and anti-pollution devices. A new footnote spells out EGR as “Exhaust gas recirculation”.

New paragraph 7.1.5. requires the manufacturer, in case of system bench, to provide “the proper thermal control (e.g. airflow velocity) to maintain system operating temperatures and system functions equivalent to those as expected on a whole vehicle under reference conditions”. Paragraph 8.8.3. now has the title “Vehicle conditioning / System Bench conditioning” instead of “Vehicle conditioning”. Its text now speaks of “the vehicle / system” instead of “the vehicle”, and of “initial conditioning” instead of “initial vehicle conditioning”. Under paragraph 8.1.2.2., wheel torque and rotational speed measurement may now also be provided “by means of system bench”, and the calibrated measurement device(s) may also be for “drive shaft(s)”. In paragraph 8.11., “(or hub dynamometer or system bench if applicable)” replaces “(or hub dyno if applicable)” after “the average power recorded at the dynamometer rollers”. Item 2.1. of the test report in Appendix 2 to Annex 1 now reads “Chassis dynamometer/Hub dynamometer/System bench 2)”.

New paragraph 9.1. has the title “Vehicle type with regard to system power”, and paragraph 9.1.1. says “Only vehicles that are the same with respect to all of the following elements may be part of the same vehicle type”. Item (c) is now “Net power of all electric machines in the powertrain”, and new item (d) reads “Construction type (for example, asynchronous, synchronous, or other specific construction type) of all electric machines in the powertrain, and type of electric energy converter(s) between the electric machine(s) and the battery”. If vehicles differ in (b) and (c) solely due to different software, they may be considered part of the same type. Vehicles within a vehicle type may be grouped into vehicle families, and the words “having the same characteristics with respect to their evaluation for system power” are deleted. If, within a vehicle type, multiple indicated figures for peak and sustained system power exist, “they shall all be based on tests conducted according to the specified procedures in this regulation and shall be traceable to a family”. At the request of the manufacturer and with the agreement of the type approval authority or technical service, a family “may be duplicated into various distinct families without the need to conduct additional tests”.

In Table 2, “Dynamometer” and “Dynamometer force” are now “Chassis dynamometer” and “Chassis dynamometer force”. One accuracy entry now reads “± 0.05 s-1 or ± 1 % of full scale rotational speed, whichever is greater”. Another entry now ends “of full scale torque, whichever is greater”, instead of “of the maximum measured total torque, whichever is greater, for the whole vehicle”. In Annex 5, paragraph 5., the power delivered to the dynamometer at each operating point may now be determined by reference to “dynamometer power data, or dynamometer speed, force and torque data, where available”. Before this series, the paragraph said “dynamometer speed and torque data”. Figure 29 “Relation between power and speed” in Annex 5 has a new graph.