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“Welcome to my time machine,” Don Leblanc says cordially. It’s no ordinary time machine, either, explains the manager of climatic engineering at the National Research Council.
“We’re not going to see dinosaurs. We’re not going into the future.” That’s so yesterday.
What Leblanc’s time machine can do is effectively transport the vehicles within it “anywhere on the planet at any time of year,” he boasts. “You want to go to the Arctic? We can do that. You want to go to the desert? We can do that.”
On Wednesday, for example, it was -17 Celsius and snowing in one section of the time machine. In a second section, the temperature was a sweltering 46 Celsius. (Mercifully, it was a dry heat.)
Leblanc’s time machine is more officially known as the NRC’s climatic testing facility, where vehicles are exposed to temperature extremes to test their capabilities. It’s the largest in North America and can be found in Building U88 on the NRC’s Uplands campus near the Ottawa airport.
Exterior of a nine-metre wind tunnel at the National Research Council.
It’s one of several world-class testing facilities the NRC operates in an effort to develop new technologies and engineering solutions for the surface transportation industry.
At a splashy ceremony Wednesday, the NRC officially unveiled a new technology program called Fleet Forward 2020. It aims to offer fleet managers from the public transportation, trucking and military sectors access to cutting-edge research and engineering services.
The goal is to improve fuel efficiency, reduce repair and maintenance costs, and minimize the environmental footprint of fleet vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances and police cruisers.
In some ways, Fleet Forward 202o is just a shiny new wrapper for the sort of work the NRC has been doing for decades.
Several years ago, for instance, it worked with Ottawa police to develop a power management system that allows cruisers to idle without the engine operating. That technology has now spread to police services across Canada.
At a splashy ceremony Wednesday, the NRC announced a technology program called Fleet Forward 2020. It aims to offer fleet managers from the public transportation, trucking and military sectors access to cutting-edge research and engineering services. The goal is to improve fuel efficiency, reduce repair and maintenance costs and minimize the environmental footprint of fleet vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances and police cruisers.
What’s different about Fleet Forward 2020, said Ian Potter, the NRC’s vice-president of engineering and business development, is that the NRC will take a broader sectoral approach in its research.
“It’s really getting the sectors together,” he said. “If we’ve helped one company reduce its fuel consumption, how do we help the sector reduce fuel consumption? It will have a much bigger impact overall.”
The NRC will invest $19.4 million in the program over the next seven years, but industry clients and the Department of National Defence, a key customer, are expected to pony up the balance of the program’s $141.9 million budget.
One of the program’s main aims, Potter said, is to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Canadian transportation industries and accelerate the marketing of their products.
“By working directly with transportation stakeholders, we also contribute directly to their profit margins, a cleaner and healthier environment, and a safer place in Canada,” he said.
Besides Leblanc’s time machine, the NRC’s testing arsenal includes a nine-metre-by-nine-metre wind tunnel with speeds high as 198 kilometres an hour and Canada’s largest tilt table.
The wind tunnel enables NRC engineers to devise ways to make large vehicles more aerodynamic, while the tilt table can determine a vehicle’s “static roll threshold,” a measure of its propensity to roll over.
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
Canadian fleets at a glance
50,000
Firms in the trucking industry
200,000
People employed in the trucking industry
335
Value, in billions of dollars, of goods taken across the Canada-U.S. border by truck in 2013
16,000
Number of urban public transit buses
5,000
Number of inter-city buses
9,000
Number of land vehicles owned and operated by the Canadian Army
3,000
Number of ambulances in Canada
2,000
Number of fire trucks
查看原文...
“We’re not going to see dinosaurs. We’re not going into the future.” That’s so yesterday.
What Leblanc’s time machine can do is effectively transport the vehicles within it “anywhere on the planet at any time of year,” he boasts. “You want to go to the Arctic? We can do that. You want to go to the desert? We can do that.”
On Wednesday, for example, it was -17 Celsius and snowing in one section of the time machine. In a second section, the temperature was a sweltering 46 Celsius. (Mercifully, it was a dry heat.)
Leblanc’s time machine is more officially known as the NRC’s climatic testing facility, where vehicles are exposed to temperature extremes to test their capabilities. It’s the largest in North America and can be found in Building U88 on the NRC’s Uplands campus near the Ottawa airport.
Exterior of a nine-metre wind tunnel at the National Research Council.
It’s one of several world-class testing facilities the NRC operates in an effort to develop new technologies and engineering solutions for the surface transportation industry.
At a splashy ceremony Wednesday, the NRC officially unveiled a new technology program called Fleet Forward 2020. It aims to offer fleet managers from the public transportation, trucking and military sectors access to cutting-edge research and engineering services.
The goal is to improve fuel efficiency, reduce repair and maintenance costs, and minimize the environmental footprint of fleet vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances and police cruisers.
In some ways, Fleet Forward 202o is just a shiny new wrapper for the sort of work the NRC has been doing for decades.
Several years ago, for instance, it worked with Ottawa police to develop a power management system that allows cruisers to idle without the engine operating. That technology has now spread to police services across Canada.
-
Raymond LeBlanc, the Aerodynamics Facility Manager at the National Research Council, walks through the fan of a massive nine-metre wind tunnel (with speeds up to 200 km per hour) Wednesday. They test aerodynamic drag at the facility.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen 
From left: Michel Dumoulin, General Manager of Automotive Surface and Transportation at the National Research Council (NRC), Don Moore, Executive Director of Canadian Transportation Equipment Association, Ian Potter, NRC's VP of Engineering and Business Management, and Jim Lothrop, Acting Director of General Transport Canada.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Exterior of a nine-metre wind tunnel at the National Research Council.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Closeup of interior of an army armoured car.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Fleet Forward 2020 was announced at NRC as a seven-year technology development program that pairs the expertise of the research council with public transportation, trucking and military sectors to improve fuel efficiency, repair costs and minimize the environmental footprint of fleet vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
The media got a rare peak inside some of the labs – including a nine-metre wind tunnel and climatic testing room – at the National Research Council Wednesday.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
A truck (a third of regular size) awaits testing inside a nine-metre wind tunnel at the National Research Council Wednesday.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Ian Potter, NRC's VP of Engineering and Business Management addresses the media, who got a rare peak inside some of the labs – including a nine-metre wind tunnel and climatic testing room – at the National Research Council Wednesday.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
As snow blows around him, Donald LeBlanc, Manager of Climatic Engineering at the National Research Council, shows the media the climatic testing room at the NRC Wednesday. The facility – with temperatures ranging from -50 degrees Celcius to +50 degrees Celcius – is the largest in North America and was designed to test vehicles in extreme weather.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
The climatic testing room at the NRC Wednesday. The facility – with temperatures ranging from -50 degrees Celcius to +50 degrees Celcius – is the largest in North America and was designed to test vehicles in extreme weather.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
As snow blows around him, Donald LeBlanc, Manager of Climatic Engineering at the National Research Council, shows the media the climatic testing room at the NRC Wednesday. The facility – with temperatures ranging from -50 degrees Celcius to +50 degrees Celcius – is the largest in North America and was designed to test vehicles in extreme weather.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
As snow blows around him, Donald LeBlanc, manager of climatic engineering at the National Research Council, shows the climatic testing room. The facility – with temperatures ranging from -50 degrees Celcius to +50 degrees Celcius – is the largest in North America and was designed to test vehicles in extreme weather.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
The media got a rare peak inside some of the labs – including a nine-metre wind tunnel (pictured) and climatic testing room - at the National Research Council Wednesday.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Workers are dwarfed inside a nine-metre wind tunnel (pictured) at the National Research Council Wednesday.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
The media got a rare peak inside some of the labs – including a nine-metre wind tunnel (pictured) and climatic testing room – at the National Research Council Wednesday.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Raymond LeBlanc, the Aerodynamics Facility Manager at the National Research Council, inside part of a massive nine-metre wind tunnel (with speeds up to 200 km per hour) Wednesday. They test aerodynamic drag at the facility.
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
At a splashy ceremony Wednesday, the NRC announced a technology program called Fleet Forward 2020. It aims to offer fleet managers from the public transportation, trucking and military sectors access to cutting-edge research and engineering services. The goal is to improve fuel efficiency, reduce repair and maintenance costs and minimize the environmental footprint of fleet vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances and police cruisers.
What’s different about Fleet Forward 2020, said Ian Potter, the NRC’s vice-president of engineering and business development, is that the NRC will take a broader sectoral approach in its research.
“It’s really getting the sectors together,” he said. “If we’ve helped one company reduce its fuel consumption, how do we help the sector reduce fuel consumption? It will have a much bigger impact overall.”
The NRC will invest $19.4 million in the program over the next seven years, but industry clients and the Department of National Defence, a key customer, are expected to pony up the balance of the program’s $141.9 million budget.
One of the program’s main aims, Potter said, is to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Canadian transportation industries and accelerate the marketing of their products.
“By working directly with transportation stakeholders, we also contribute directly to their profit margins, a cleaner and healthier environment, and a safer place in Canada,” he said.
Besides Leblanc’s time machine, the NRC’s testing arsenal includes a nine-metre-by-nine-metre wind tunnel with speeds high as 198 kilometres an hour and Canada’s largest tilt table.
The wind tunnel enables NRC engineers to devise ways to make large vehicles more aerodynamic, while the tilt table can determine a vehicle’s “static roll threshold,” a measure of its propensity to roll over.
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
Canadian fleets at a glance
50,000
Firms in the trucking industry
200,000
People employed in the trucking industry
335
Value, in billions of dollars, of goods taken across the Canada-U.S. border by truck in 2013
16,000
Number of urban public transit buses
5,000
Number of inter-city buses
9,000
Number of land vehicles owned and operated by the Canadian Army
3,000
Number of ambulances in Canada
2,000
Number of fire trucks
查看原文...