Abstract: The invention relates to a test device for simulating motor vehicle crashes, with a slide arrangement which is arranged displaceably along a rail arrangement, a test rig which is arranged on the slide arrangement and on which at least one motor vehicle component to be tested is arranged or is mountable, and with an acceleration unit via which a force is transmittable to the slide arrangement in order to accelerate the latter. With the aim of providing a test device with which the test reproducibility and the test simulation accuracy can be improved and the number of required iteration steps reduced, the test device has at least one sensor element for continuously detecting motion measured values of the slide arrangement.

Abstract: The description relates to a method for operating a test device and to a test device for simulating motor vehicle crashes. The test device has a carriage arrangement which is arranged so as to be displaceable along a rail arrangement; a test setup which is arranged on the carriage arrangement and has at least one motor vehicle component to be tested; and an acceleration unit by means of which a force can be transmitted to the carriage arrangement in order to accelerate the carriage arrangement. The acceleration unit has a hydraulic drive cylinder with a piston and a piston rod which is connected to the carriage arrangement. At least one measuring pickup is provided for sensing a pressure which acts in the piston-side region and/or in the piston-rod-side region of the drive cylinder.

Abstract: Materials, or structural components are tested under resonance conditions by means of a pressure operated load mechanism controlled by a servo-hydraulic control unit. The pressure medium is part of the oscillating system. The spring rate or stiffness of the pressure medium is adjusted relative to the spring rate of the test sample, or rather relative to the spring rate of the entire oscillating system in such a manner that the maximum pressure occurring at resonance operation corresponds as close as possible to the rated supply pressure of the system. The load mechanism comprises a single cylinder for producing dynamic loads for the resonance operation and also static loads of substantially the same size as said dynamic loads.