AVL (Engineering Firm)
Encyclopedia
AVL, or Anstalt für Verbrennungskraftmaschinen List, is an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n-based automotive consulting firm as well as an independent research institute. It is the largest privately owned company for the development of powertrain
Powertrain
In a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, drive shafts, differentials, and the final drive...

 systems with internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...

s (ICEs) as well as instrumentation and test systems and also produces electric powertrains.

Company history and accomplishments

AVL was founded by Professor Doctor Hans List
Hans List
Hans List was a technical scientist and inventor and entrepreneur....

 in 1948, after he became an independent engineer
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

. The company was primarily focused on diesel
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

 truck engines, and after great success, branched out in 1960 to include an engine instrumentation division.

In 1969, AVL developed a revolutionary test bed which allowed for comprehensive data acquisition and analysis.

Throughout the 1970s, AVL's diesel engine performance and data acquisition capabilities continued to improve, while its PUMA test bed software began to give the company an international reputation. The founder's son Helmut List
Helmut List
Helmut List is an engineer, businessman, and philanthropist. He holds the academic title of Professor Doctor. He is CEO of AVL, which was founded by his father, the engineer and inventor Hans List, in 1948...

 became the management chairman in 1979. After more innovations and more success in the 1980s, AVL opened its AST (Advanced Simulation Technology) division in 1987.

Some of the AVL's special skills are widely known and available to the technically interested public. One is developing and improving 4-wheel-drive systems. Another is car sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...

 design, for practically all car producers around the globe. This is why, in general, more silently running vehicles can be distinguished by their manufacturer. However, the sounds are sensitively matched to the local aural expectations, therefore they sound differently in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, the US, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, or Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. More significantly, each type of vehicle is expected to have a characteristic sound; a sport roadster's sound greatly differs from an SUV
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...

 as well as a same-company cruising limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....

.

AVL assisted American Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 with the design of their new Power Stroke medium-duty truck diesel engine.

CEO Helmut List is also eponymous for the Helmut-List-Halle, a large multi-purpose cultural venue. It hosts many events during the annual Styrian Autumn Festival. As the hall particularly features ideal acoustic
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...

 conditions for classical concerts, one of its estimators is a worldwide renowned Mozart expert who grew up in Graz, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...

.

AVL has technical centers around the world namely Graz, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Sweden, Japan, Korea, France, US, Hungary, India, UK, China and Turkey.

AVL group, besides the direct affiliates of AVL List GmbH also include other companies
  • AVL Ditest
  • DIGALOG
  • AVL Schrick GmbH
  • Piezocrsyt
  • Trimerics
  • AVL Emission Test Systems GmbH
  • AVL Pierburg Instruments Flow Technology GmbH
  • Le Moteur Moderne (LMM)

AVL Advanced Simulation Technologies

Engine Thermodynamics & Internal Flow Analysis
  • FIRE
  • BOOST
    Boost
    -Science, technology and mathematics:* Automotive:** Boost, positive manifold pressure in cars, see Turbocharger#Pressure increase.*** a loose term for turbo or supercharger** A slang term meaning to start a vehicle, see jump start...

  • HYDSIM
  • FAME


Engine Structural Dynamics
  • EXCITE PowerUnit
  • EXCITE Piston&Ring
  • EXCITE Timing Drive


Vehicle Concept Simulation
  • CRUISE
  • ADVISOR
    Advisor
    An advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area i.e. a specialist and may refer to:-Finances:*Commodity trading advisor, any person who engages in the business of advising others...



Vehicle Flow Mechanics
  • SWIFT
  • FAME


Online Solutions
  • ADVISOR
    Advisor
    An advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area i.e. a specialist and may refer to:-Finances:*Commodity trading advisor, any person who engages in the business of advising others...

  • eFAME

Electric vehicles

The shift to electrified vehicles has prompted AVL Powertrain Engineering Inc. to open a battery lab in its Ann Arbor, Mich., tech center.

AVL is introducing a new energy management and systems integration facility, the AVL California Technology Center (CTC), to support the market's advanced technology initiatives. Located in the epicenter of "green" initiatives—southern California—the facility showcases ample capabilities not currently consolidated in any other North American facility.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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