Optimized Proving Ground Testing and Design Strategy for Multiple Markets

Proving ground testing is an important test for durability qualification of the vehicle. A proving ground schedule needs to be developed based on customer usage, like road and load conditions. Different countries have different customer usage conditions, leading to different proving ground test schedules. In this paper we propose a methodology for testing and design strategy of the same vehicle catering to different countries, leading to optimum design. Data were acquired in three different countries with their specific customer usage conditions. Relative Damage Spectrum (RDS) and best-fit optimization were used to derive test schedules and compared. Three approaches are proposed. One approach is to have the worst schedule adopted and verified. The second approach is to scale the warranty life for different markets for any selected test schedule. The third approach is proposed to have different fatigue-grade materials to cater to different markets while having a common vehicle design. By utilizing these approaches, manufacturers can ensure that the vehicles they produce are optimally designed to withstand the rigors of the predicted usage conditions while remaining economically viable with reduced testing costs and a streamlined design process. Keywords: Proving ground testing, Durability qualification, Customer usage patterns, Road load conditions, Market‑specific vehicle usage, Test schedule development, Relative Damage Spectrum (RDS), Best‑fit optimization, Fatigue damage assessment, Multi‑country vehicle validation, Warranty life scaling, Worst‑case test schedule, Optimized durability testing, Material fatigue grading, Common vehicle platform design, Usage‑dependent design strategy, Cost‑efficient validation, Streamlined durability design, Vehicle robustness optimization, Global vehicle testing methodology