Applus+ IDIADA refurbishes wet braking test track

The Applus+ IDIADA wet braking track, built in 1998, incorporates a water-irrigation system for carrying out brake tests on low and medium friction surfaces. After years of intensive use and several track expansions, the watering system began to show signs of ageing. The facility’s delicate condition necessitated an increasingly rigorous maintenance schedule in order to keep the watering system fit for purpose.
As such, Applus+ IDIADA decided to upgrade the watering system in order to improve water distribution over the braking surfaces, therein reducing the maintenance team’s workload at the same time as improving water recovery rates and meeting the most demanding of environmental standards.
The project set out to minimise track downtime so as to reduce the impact on users. Following the refurbishment, the braking track resumed normal operation in early 2018, after just six weeks of closure. The project achieved all of its objectives: water distribution across the track has improved on all surfaces and the water recovery rate has increased from 65–70% to 90–95%.
Through the implementation of new environmental management systems, Applus+ is working to reduce the potential environmental impact on the communities in which our clients operate. With this in mind, Applus+ IDIADA continues to innovate and improve its test circuit, the most comprehensive and independent of its kind in Europe. The facility boasts world-renowned tracks offering first-class design, engineering, testing and homologation services to the automotive industry.