GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has just announced a partnership with GM and OnStar to provide electric vehicle emergency training for first responders, and kicked off the training series.
The announcement was made at the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire-Rescue International Conference in Chicago where GM and OnStar demonstrated emergency techniques on the Chevy Volt.

The training program is funded by the US government Recovery Act and will consist of a series of training courses. The NPFA will also be reaching out to other automakers that are producing electric cars.

“With the Chevrolet Volt and other electric vehicles about to hit the streets, it is important to know that first responders are trained and ready to respond,” said Andrew Klock, NFPA’s senior project manager for the initiative. “First responders have a long history of successfully adapting their response to new automotive technologies in order to protect the public as well as themselves.”

“This collaboration gives us an opportunity to extend our electric vehicle training and education program giving our nation’s first responders a platform to learn more about this new era of automotive transportation,” said Chevrolet Safety Director Gay Kent.

Chevrolet and OnStar are helping to produce the series of online courses and videos which will be used in instructor-led courses. The objective is to ensure first responders know how to deal specifically with EVs and the Volt in particular during emergency situations such as crashes and fires.

The first kick-off three-hour presentation took place at the conference and included an extraction demonstration using an actual Chevrolet Volt. Key points such as where to cut the high strength steel in an extraction were highlighted.

Other items included in the presentation were how to power down the 360-v high voltage systems in an emergency and how to fight a battery fire (with water not dry chemicals).  It was also noted that OnStar will transmit the advent of a Volt crash to the OnStar command center so that first responders could be advised the crash involves an electric car.

And, to sadden yourself a little, you can watch this video of firemen slicing up a perfectly usable Volt:

Source (GM) and (GreenCarCongress)

In the latest installment of GM-produced two minute transparency videos, the company gives us a taste of what its like to test the Chevrolet Volt braking system.

Featured in the video is Performance Integration Engineer Valarie Boatman who describes how GM tests braking, stability, and traction control in Volt prototypes.

She notes that the stopping time test is very important and is measured as a pass or fail.  The Volt’s brakes she says “are phenomenal,” and they are much faster than the brakes in a conventional car.  This is because the Volt’s brakes use an accumulator which is more responsive and rapid than conventional vacuum-boost brakes.

Also measured is the ability to steer while braking and brake while steering.  In this test, she measures the car’s yaw rate or rotational behavior, which is also measured on a pass fail basis.

For stability control the car’s tendency to spin out of control is measured, and engineered to be kept at a minimum.

Traction control is measured by seeing how fast the car can accelerate without spinning the wheels too much.

On all counts the Volt delivers.

She notes the testing process just for the brakes ” takes months and months” of eight to ten hour workdays, just to get things right.  In the end though she finds working on the Volt “is a really cool opportunity.”

See video below:

The video below illustrates a safety test GM is putting Chevrolet Volt test cars through, called the flooded road test.

It takes place at GM’s Milford proving grounds and is headed by Engineer Rob Drexler. Concerns about putting large batteries in water is the rationale for the test which is done “to verify and confirm the customer is protected from any water intrusion into the battery,” says Drexler.

He notes the Volt’s battery system has three or four detection systems inside that will kill the power if water is detected inside. Development testing with a battery shell in the same trough, checking to ensure water did not enter it had been done six months ago.

The test demonstrated is an actual live battery in a Volt run through at various depths and speeds. It is both driven forward and in reverse multiple times. In between each run, engineers physically check the battery and the air induction system to make sure it passes specifications.

Whether water enters the pack is determined indirectly in between each run, and after the whole test the pack is physically completely broken down and visually checked by hand.

Drexel notes there are very stringent specifications for the allowance of any water into the battery and that the Volt is, of course, passing.

Previously, GM battery engineer Lance Turner described a test where GM fully submerged an EV-1 into a tank of salt water to simulate what would happen if a passenger accidentally drove into the sea.

I asked Turner if such a test had been done with the Volt. “I can’t confirm or deny,” says Turner.

Chevrolet and OnStar announced the formation of the first automaker-sponsored training program to educate the nation’s first responders on how to manage electric vehicles in an accidents.

The announcement is being made by General Motors in San Francisco jointly with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).

“We believe a first responder educational program is a needed step toward helping this very important group of life-savers understand electric vehicles in the event of a crash or other emergency,” said Carmen Benavides, director, Chevrolet Safety. “The team at Chevrolet and OnStar along with first responder organizations are taking the lead as we introduce electric vehicles and other advanced technologies to the roads.”

The inaugural training sessions will take place in Chicago in August at the IAFC’s Fire-Rescue International Conference, and will feature the Chevrolet Volt. Local first responder training workshops will begin to roll out with the car in San Francisco, Los Angles, Detroit, and Washington DC when the Volt sales begin there later this year. Throughout this year Chevrolet has worked with various national first responder representatives from national safety organizations to develop the appropriate training and education materials to be used in these sessions.

The training will include an animation and illustrations of the Chevrolet Volt highlighting locations of high-strength steel, cut points for extrication, first responder labeling, automatic and manual electrical shut-off and more.

The Chevrolet Volt’s safety features include safeguards before, during and, thanks to OnStar, after a crash. Before a crash, the vehicle’s technology helps the driver stay on track with an antilock brake system, Stabilitrak and traction control. Additional crash avoidance features include daytime running lamps and hands-free calling capability through OnStar and Bluetooth. During a crash the Volt can reduce injuries with safety cage construction, sensors, crush zones, eight air bags standard and safety belts. And after a crash Chevrolet Volt has the added protection of OnStar which, in certain types of collisions, uses built-in vehicle sensors to automatically alert an OnStar Advisor who is immediately connected into the vehicle and can request emergency help to be sent to its location.

More than 50 crash tests at various speeds and angles have been conducted to date in the development of the Chevrolet Volt, including front, side and rear impacts as well as rollovers. There is extensive use of high strength steel in the body structure in order to achieve outstanding safety performance.

-General Motors

Benavides explains that the Chevy Volt’s high voltage system runs at 360 volts, similar to GMs current 2-mode hybrids which run at 300 volts.  Not much will be different when dealing with the Volt in an accident scenario as compared to hybrids already on the road.

She also explains that just because the Volt has a large lithium-ion battery it doesn’t not behave differently or more dangerously in accidents than conventional cars.  This is a fact GM has verified on its dozens of Volt crash tests to date.  Theses tests have included front, side, and rear collisions as well as  roll-overs and roof crushes.

Toyota has recently been under intense media and government scrutiny, public debate, and has even been slapped $16.4 million in fines over its recall of vehicles for unintended acceleration.  The company was determined by the US government to have knowingly withheld information about a faulty accelerator pedal.

Though a sticky pedal is officially to blame, controversy still surrounds the idea that part of the problem has to do with drive-by-wire electronic throttle control systems.  These electronic components use electric circuits to regulate the throttle as interpreted from pedal pressure, and may be susceptible to electromagnetic interference.

Though GM has made it unscathed through this process, the company has decided to react to Toyota’s predicament by announcing they will  provide brake override software in all of GM vehicles with automatic transmissions and electronic throttle controls by the end of 2012

And according to a GM spokesperson, this will include the Chevrolet Volt at launch.

The specialized system is triggered in the circumstance when a driver is activating both the accelerator and brake simultaneously.

The so-called “enhanced smart pedal” technology will automatically reduce power to the engine when both the accelerator and brake pedals are depressed.

“News media analyses of government data consistently validates that GM’s safety record on this issue is among the strongest in the industry,” said Tom Stephens, vice chairman, GM Global Product Operations.  “At the same time, we know safety is top of mind for consumers, so we are applying additional technology to reassure them that they can count on the brakes in their GM vehicle.”

The rollout will be gradual so that GM can validate customers will not experience any deterioration in drivability that might occur with the new technology.

Source (Green Car Congress) and (GM)

Earlier this week GM exhibited futuristic display technology currently under development.

The system expands the idea of heads-up display to the entire surface of the windshield incorporating advanced sensor technology to provide extensive safety information.

Current heads-up displays draw images on a small area of the windshield above the driver’s head and may include basic information such as speed. The new system GM is developing in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon and USC draws information on the entire inner surface of the windshield creating an augmented reality version of what is going on outside. Data is collected through an array of sensors and cameras outside the vehicle which feeds into the image the driver sees.

The goal of the system is to enhance safety.

Imagine the scenario of an extremely foggy night or a drive through very dense rain or snow. Driving can be difficult due to the inability to discern the edges of the road or other vehicles. The new system can actually draw the outlines of the road so that the driver knows exactly where they are.

Moving objects such as pedestrians, animals and other vehicles can be visually enhanced on the screen as well. Night vision technology is an important component a well.

GM hasn’t specifically designated a vehicle that will receive this system, and there is still a lot of work to be done. Fully functional units may not be production ready until 2016, but components of the system may find their way into vehicles in the near-term.

“This design is superior to traditional head down display-based night vision systems, which require a user to read information from a traditional display, create a mental model and imagine the threat’s precise location in space,” said Thomas Seder, group lab manager-GM R&D. “We have done testing on a number of drivers and their performance is better relative to head-down systems that are commonly used in vehicles today.”

“It’s a compelling design,” he added.

Check out the video below.

Source (GM)