DVE provides a complete range of crash and materials testing services.

Vehicle Crash Testing

DVE regularly conducts full scale vehicle testing. Tests are usually carried out at the Australian Army's Monegeetta Test Facillty. DVE has experience in drop testing, barrier testing and rollover testing.

Portable Crash Testing Facility

DVE, in conjunction with Racing Victoria Limited, has developed a portable 88m test track.  The track can be used to simulate impacts of 30 to 60km/h for lightweight vehicles such as quad bikes and motorbikes, and has been used for jockey barrier impact testing. In contrast to full scale testing which evaluates vehcile crashworthiness, this lighweight facility is suitable for cost effective tesing of roadside objects such as poles and impact absorbing materials for motorcyclists. The facility is useful for the develoment of the safety of roadside objects it terms of safely evaluating the frangility and safety performance of products.  

Video of the tests is captured using industry standard 1000 frames per second high speed cameras.

Safety Product Evaluation and Development

Safety products development can be aided and sped up by dynamic impact testing, computer simulation of impacts and materials testing to back up the serviceability claims for components in a safety system. These three aspects are available and DVExperts and the company can faciliate rapid prototyping of safety products with the stategic use of these tools.  With these capabilities in place a full product developoment cycle can be accommodated.

Crash testing saves lives though the exact, realistic and dynamic feedback produced from a crash test.  It is the catalyst of product safety development.  Rather than taking a "suck-it-and-see" approach, which introduces risk to the public, items can be crash tested to predict the 10 year injury causing or injury mitigation record with great accuracy and in advance of implementation.

DVExperts can provide consultancy on safety product development and can work with a range of manufacturers to guide the product to safer realisations. The characteristics of safe products in application to specific industry context can be determined. Current safety product development guidelines and standards can be used to identify acceptable levels of safety performance for products.

Materials Testing

Materials testing up to 1 tonne is available using a 6022 Instron materials testing device.  Rather than tesing for heavy weight loading, this capability is focused on the assessment of injury to humans.