Operational testing of unibus U4-210 in the amount of 10,000-km distance run is underway at SkyWay EcoTechnoPark on-site Maryina Gorka. It is “raced” to identify weaknesses: components and systems that will require design and technological improvements to raise reliability.
Unibus U4-210 is a single vehicle that is designed for urban and suburban routes. It can accommodate 14 people. It is moved by a traction electric drive powered from the contact network or from the on-board energy storage. Traction drive motors are combined with wheels in a common unit – a motor-wheel. So, there is no need to install transmission units (gearboxes), and it is possible to reduce the size, weight and cost of the drive.
The cabin of the unibus has microclimate, lighting, audio and video information systems for passengers. All controls are automated. A garage is not needed, and the vehicle can be used under various climatic conditions. The advantages over the car are obvious.
On top of that SkyWay transport system with such unibuses is capable to transport up to 50,000 passengers per hour. Moscow metro has about the same performance capacity. The expected average lifecycle of unibus U4-210 is 25 years.
The purpose of the operational testing is to understand how reliable and efficient the unibus is, to find out the time of transition of parts, assemblies and units to the limit state. To set various standards, to identify benefits and drawbacks. And then — to develop recommendations for improvement.
During the tests, professionals from SkyWay Technologies Co. subject the vehicle to such loads, that are expected in everyday use. They monitor the technical condition of the product and file up the results. It is important to record exactly how long the product and its components will “serve up” their lives. This will help to further improve the invention and work out methods for its maintenance.
As a result, researchers will identify “bottlenecks”, ways to improve them and forecast the timing of maintenance. In other words, they will calculate how many and what kind of failures can occur on the vehicle for the testing run.
The result of the tests will be data on the performance and reliability of parts, systems and components under certain operating conditions. They will be used while designing new models, taking into account the unification or modernization of the vehicle and its components.
