Kit media
The Emitech laboratory in Chassieu, near Lyon, has EMC, radio, EMF and electrical safety testing capabilities mainly dedicated to testing electrical and electronic equipment. In response to the evolution of the market for new electric mobility, it announces the establishment on its site of a test bench dedicated to Electric Bikes (e-bikes). It is thus positioned as one of the only laboratories in Europe to be able to carry out tests in EMC, Radio and safety with support on regulatory aspects and standardization, for motor/battery safety, wiring and electrical connections, management of the power supplied, maximum assistance speed, start-up assistance, EMC, etc.
As part of the presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, the EN 15194:2017 standard is in force to evaluate electrically assisted bicycles. It defines the main criteria for the components of a bicycle equipped with an auxiliary electric motor, powered by a rechargeable battery that will thus assist the user when pedaling. An e-bike, according to this standard, is defined as an assistance limited to a maximum of 25 km/h, a maximum rated power of the engine that must not exceed 0.25 kW and this must be cut off as soon as the cyclist stops pedaling.
Emitech delivers test results relating to the requirements of this standard, which, if they comply, allow the manufacturer to build his CE marking file for marketing in Europe.
A test bench that reflects advanced technical expertise
The test bench of the Emitech laboratory, instrumented to measure speed, power and torque on different axes, makes it possible to simulate a wide variety of human pedaling and thus allow the servo of the e-bike on several standardized operating points. Emitech is thus able to evaluate any type of e-bike construction.
On the market, there are different technologies of electrically assisted cycles. Among the parameters that impact the operation of the bench, we count for example: the place of the engine, located either on the front or rear hub, or in the bottom bracket as well as the mode of triggering the pedal assistance which can intervene by simple detection of crank rotation or torque detection at the bottom bracket or a combination of both.
For Thomas Chrétiennot, EMC engineer at Emitech, "The increasing refinement of the controllers and instrumentation on board e-bikes and which control their operation is such that today, a rotating machine that operates only at constant speed and torque may prove insufficient to trigger the pedaling assistance of an e-bike. Our bench therefore incorporates an additional degree of complexity to best imitate human pedaling, for example by dynamically controlling the pedaling torque. »
The standard is currently restricted and excludes mountain bikes and self-service bicycles. Given the explosion of interest in electric assistance for cycles, in view of the evolution of mobility and ecological issues, Emitech anticipates an extension of the standard in force under the same conditions. Manufacturers can prepare for this evolution themselves to better understand the design consequences and acquire the know-how required to verify these different requirements.
The standard also includes mechanical aspects, resistance to environmental stresses, evaluation of hazardous phenomena according to EN ISO 12100 and operational safety according to EN ISO 13849 which are carried out in partnership with expert laboratories in order to be able to support manufacturers on a complete evaluation of EN 15194:2017.
Visit the website:
www.emitech.fr
