AIS-056 (Rev.

1)

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY STANDARD

Requirements of Truck Cabin

Ventilation System for Category
N2 & N3 Vehicles

PRINTED BY
THE AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF INDIA
P.B. NO. 832, PUNE 411 004

ON BEHALF OF
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY STANDARDS COMMITTEE

UNDER
CENTRAL MOTOR VEHICLE RULES – TECHNICAL STANDING COMMITTEE

SET-UP BY
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS
(DEPARTMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS)
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

May 2017

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)

Status chart of the Standard to be used by the purchaser for updating the record

Sr.
Corrigendum Amendment Revision Date Remark Misc.
No.

General remarks:

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)

INTRODUCTION

The Government of India felt the need for a permanent agency to expedite the
publication of standards and development of test facilities in parallel when the work
on the preparation of the standards is going on, as the development of improved safety
critical parts can be undertaken only after the publication of the standard and
commissioning of test facilities. To this end, the erstwhile Ministry of Surface Transport
(MoST) has constituted a permanent Automotive Industry Standards Committee (AISC)
vide order No. RT-11028/11/97-MVL dated September 15, 1997. The standards
prepared by AISC will be approved by the permanent CMVR Technical Standing
Committee (CTSC). After approval, the Automotive Research Association of India,
(ARAI), Pune, being the secretariat of the AIS Committee, will publish this standard.

The original guideline standard AIS-056: 2009 was created based on road tests and
design survey conducted from 2003 onwards. Now in 2017, Ministry of Road Transport
has taken further initiative to mandate certain levels of climate comfort within N2 and
N3 category truck cabins.

This standard is being revised for providing technical requirements for type
approval.

The compositions of the AISC Panel, Automotive Industry Standards Committee

(AISC) for Vehicles with GVW of more than 3.5 tonnes and Permanent Automotive
Industry Standards Committee (AISC) responsible for preparation of this
standard are given in Annexure-6, 7 & 8 respectively.

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)

Requirements of Truck Cabin Ventilation System for Category

N2 & N3 Vehicles
1. SCOPE

1.1 This Standard shall apply to vehicles of N2 & N3 category, irrespective of

whether they leave the factory premises as fully built or incomplete vehicle.
1.2 Vehicles referred in Clause No. 1.1 above depending on whether they are
equipped with Air Conditioning (AC) / Heating, Ventilation and Air
Conditioning (HVAC) systems or Ventilation Systems shall comply with respective
requirements given in this standard.

2. REFERENCES
2.1 AIS-053 Automotive Vehicles - Types - Terminology

3. DEFINITIONS:
The definitions pertaining to the requirements are specified at respective
Annexures to this standard.
4. APPLICATION FOR TYPE APPROVAL

4.1 The application for type approval of a vehicle type shall be submitted by the
vehicle manufacturer along with at least the details given in Annexure 1.

Note: If the details are covered in application for complete vehicle type approval,
it is not necessary to submit them separately.

5. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:
The vehicle submitted for type approval shall meet the requirements given
in Annexure 2 of this standard.
6. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS / TEST PROCEDURE:
The performance requirements & test procedure are given in Annexure 3 of this
standard.
7. GUIDELINES FOR CRITERIA FOR EXTENSION OF APPROVAL (CEA)
: CEA is given in Annexure 4 of this standard.

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)

ANNEXURE 1
(See 4.1)
TECHNICAL INFORMATION TO BE SUBMITTED BY VEHICLE
MANUFACTURER FOR TYPE APPROVAL

A General information

1. Name and address of vehicle manufacturer

2 Vehicle model and its variant(s)

3 Vehicle overall dimensions, (length, width

and height), mm

B Information for Ventilation system

1.1 Total area (cm2) of the unblocked openings

and their locations excluding the area of Side
Door Windows (Drawing to be provided)

1.2 Cabin volume (m3)

Name of manufacturer of the installed

2
blower(s)

3 Total flow rate (m3 /hr ) of all the blowers

installed

4 No. of speeds offered in blower (s)

5 Whether air vents have been provided for

direction control, If yes, their locations

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)

ANNEXURE 2

(See 5.0)
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

A 2.1 Definitions
A 2.1.1 Forced ventilation: Ventilation arrangement in which air is forced through
ducts or vents using a blower into the truck cabin.

A 2.1.2 Natural ventilation: Ventilation arrangement in which air is supplied to and

/ or removed from the truck cabin using pressure differences arising from
natural forces and without using mechanical aids.

A 2.1.3 Openings: Passages or cutouts provided in the truck cabin for connecting the
air inside the cabin to the ambient air for natural ventilation. They may be
provided with louvers, doors or hatches for blocking and unblocking by the
occupant.

A 2.1.4 Unblocked area of the openings: Clear cross sectional area of the openings
in fully open condition.

A 2.1.5 Cabin volume: Interior spatial capacity of the enclosed space of the truck
cabin wherein volume of seats & dashboard shall be excluded.

A.2.1.6 Air Conditioning (AC) System: An Air Conditioning system is a system

intended for cooling and dehumidifying the warm air in the occupant area.
The system may optionally replenish the air in the occupant area with ambient
air from outside.

A 2.1.7 Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System: A Heating,

Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System is an AC system with
additional capability to warm up the air in the occupant area.

A 2.1.8 Type Approved Kit: Type Approved Kit, for the purpose of this standard
means forced ventilation kit type approved by any of the testing agencies
notified under CMV Rule 126 and complying the requirements of this standard.
The Type Approved Kit shall consist of the following:
1. Blower along with its accessories including ducts and controls for flow rates.
2. Drawings – Duct and Openings

A 2.2 Requirements

A 2.2.1 Differentiated requirements for vehicles equipped with HVAC / AC or

Ventilation System

A 2.2.1.1 All vehicles covered in the scope of this standard which are equipped with
ventilation system shall meet the requirements of natural ventilation
(Clause No. A 2.2.2) and of forced ventilation (Clause No. A 2.2.3).

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)
A 2.2.1.2 All vehicles covered in the scope of this standard which are equipped with
H V A C / AC system shall meet the forced ventilation requirements (Clause No.
A 2.2.3). Such vehicles shall be exempt from complying with requirements of natural
ventilation requirements (Clause No. A 2.2.2).

A 2.2.2 Natural ventilation

A 2.2.2.1 Every truck cabin shall be provided with openings such that the total
combined unblocked area of all the openings shall not be less than 120 cm2/m3 of
cabin volume.

A 2.2.2.2 Typical examples of such openings are front quarter windows, rear quarter
windows, roof hatch, rear window, air extractors, kick vents, front panel vents or
any other feature provided by the manufacturer. Refer Figure in Annexure 5. The
open area in the main windows of the side doors shall not be included in the
calculation of unblocked area.

A 2.2.2.3 For incomplete vehicles without full cabin enclosures, the vehicle manufacturer
shall provide body building guidelines on the openings required in the Cabin to
facilitate their inclusion during body building. These guidelines shall also be
submitted to the test agency with the application in Annexure 1 in such case
responsibility for type approval of natural ventilation system against A 2.2.2.1 shall
lie with body builder.

A 2.2.3 Forced ventilation

A 2.2.3.1 Every truck cabin shall be installed with a forced ventilation system that
provides a minimum combined value of the airflow from all the blower outlets
of 275 m3 / hr of air flow rate at voltage specified by manufacturer.

A 2.2.3.2 The manufacturer may install the blower and its accessories at any
appropriate locations inside the cabin such as the dashboard, roof and rear
wall to suit the cabin design and layout.

A 2.2.3.3 The blower shall have a control that provides at least 2 flow rates such that the
minimum flow rate specified in A 2.2.3.1 is achieved on at least one position.

A 2.2.3.4 The outlets of the forced ventilation system shall be provided with louvers or
alternate arrangement for directing the flow of air in desired direction.

A 2.2.3.5 The specified forced ventilation system shall be installed on incomplete vehicles
also.
Where the cabin build level of the incomplete vehicles prevents the fitment of the
forced ventilation system, the vehicle manufacturer shall provide these items as
a type approved kit along with the vehicle and accompanied with suitable
guidelines to facilitate the body builder in installing the items.

A 2.3 Guidelines on desirable features

A 2.3.1 The previous version of AIS-056: 2009 was a guideline standard which
recommended several non-mandatory desirable features in the Truck cabins for
improving the thermal comfort of occupants. The panel decided that the
recommendation with regard to body thermal insulation to improve cabin occupant
comfort should be carried forward as desirable non-mandatory feature
recommendation to provide guidance to designers. For this, Clause No. 3.1 of
previous version is being reproduced here as Clause No. A 2.3.2.
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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)

A 2.3.2 Provision of Heat Insulation Material : It is desirable that the following areas are
provided with heat insulating materials to reduce the transfer of heat into the cabin:

A 2.3.2.1 Engine Compartment

A 2.3.2.2 Cabin Flooring

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)
Examples of suitable materials, recommended locations and suitable fixing
methods are tabulated herewith for ready reference:

Floor and Engine Hood Insulation

Description Location Recommended Recommended
Specifications method of
fixing
Thickness Density
(mm) (g/m2)

Felt 15-20 1000-1200 Kept loose on floor

Inside Cabin : or mechanical
fixing
Floor
EVA (Ethylene Engine Hood 2-5 3000-4000 Using suitable
Vinyl Acetate) Adhesive
Sheet
Rubber mat 5-10 ------- Kept loose on floor
/melt pad or mechanical
fixing

Dimpled PU 20-50 2000-5000 Using suitable

foam* Outside adhesive
Cabin /
Glass wool or Engine 2-5 1000-1200 Mechanical fitment
Polyester sheet Compartment
Or felt

*Caution Note: Thickness should not exceed 50mm to mitigate the risk of engine
overheating

A 2.3.2.3 Cabin Roof

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 AIS-056 (Rev. 1)
A 2.3.2.4 Cabin Bulkhead (Firewall), Side and Rear Walls

A 2.3.2.5 Door Panels

It is recommended that the heat insulating material so provided could be fire retardant.
Examples of suitable materials, recommended locations and suitable fixing
methods are tabulated herewith for ready reference:

Cabin Roof, Door Pads and Side Wall Insulation

Description Location Recommended Recommended

Specifications method of fixing
Thickness Density
(mm)
Poly Urethane Roof / 10-25 28-32 Using suitable
(PU) foam kg/m3 adhesive /
Sandwich Velcro
Molded roof Sidewalls 1.5 - 8 Mechanical
lining / ------ Fixing
Polyproylene (eg. Plastic
(PP) trims plugs)
Polyester Door Pads 3-10 100 - 150 Mechanical fixing
wadding gsm (eg. Plastic plug,
Screw)

A 2.3.3 It is also recommended to fit an air exhauster to the truck cabin for removing stale air
as desirable non-mandatory feature.

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 AIS-056 (Rev 1)

ANNEXURE 3

(See 6.0)
TEST PROCEDURE

A 3.1 Air flow rate test

A 3.1.1 The blower of the forced ventilation system shall be bench tested for conformance to
flow rate requirements. At the request of the manufacturer, optionally this test may
be conducted on the vehicle. When the test is conducted on the vehicle, the combined
value of the airflow from all the outlets into the cabin shall meet the requirements of
clause no A 2.2.3.1.

A 3.1.2 An air velocity meter (for e.g. vane type anemometer) with a measurement
accuracy of ± 2% shall be used for this test.

A 3.1.3 The inlet of the air velocity meter shall be placed directly at the outlet of the blower.
In case the test is conducted on the vehicle at the manufacturer’s request, the
velocity meter shall be placed directly at the outlet of the vent(s). Formula for
deriving Air flow rate from measured air velocity shall be as follows:

Air flow rate (m3/hr)

= Air velocity (m/s) X Air outlet exit area in contact with Anemometer(m2) X 3600

A 3.2 Verification of unblocked area of openings

A 3.2.1 The manufacturer shall provide necessary drawings and calculation in evidence of
conformance to the unblocked area requirements.

A 3.2.2 Where necessary the test agency may audit the submission with actual
measurements in the case of vehicle manufacturer built cabins.

A 3.2.3 In the case of a body built by a body builder, the test agency may decide on the
comprehensiveness of the audit in A 3.2.2 based on whether or not submissions
as in A 3.2.1 are received.

A 3.3 Electro Magnetic Compatibility: The components of the forced ventilation

system shall comply with EMC requirements of AIS-004 (Part 3) where applicable.

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 AIS-056 (Rev 1)

ANNEXURE 4
(See 7.0)

GUIDELINES FOR CRITERIA FOR EXTENSION OF APPROVAL (CEA)

In case of following changes, the verification shall be carried out for establishing compliance
of the changed parameters to the requirements specified in this standard.

If change in make, check for air flow rate

A 4.1 Blower
and EMC

A 4.2 Unblocked area Openings Reduction in area with respect to already

approved

A 4.3 Blower speed control arrangement If change in make, check for air flow rate

Changes other than the above are considered as not affecting compliance and do not call for
any verifications.

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 AIS-056 (Rev 1)

ANNEXURE 5

(See Clause A 2.2.2.2 of Annexure 2)

TYPICAL LAYOUT FOR UNBLOCKED OPENING AREAS IN N2 /N3

VEHICLE CABINS

Note: This figure is indicative. While providing openings in cabin are

mandatory, locations shown here are for reference only.

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 AIS-056 (Rev 1)

ANNEXURE 6
(See Introduction)
PANEL COMPOSITION*

Convener
Dr. Venkat Srinivas Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.(Truck & Bus Division)

Members Representing

Shri Samir Sattigeri /Shri S. N. Dhole Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT)

Shri V. P. Rawal Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)

Director International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT)

Director/Shri SAM Shaikh Vehicle Research & Development Establishment

(VRDE)
Director/Site Head Global Automotive Research Centre (GARC)

Executive Director Association of State Road Transport Undertakings

(ASRTU)
Shri Vishnu Mathur/ Shri K. K. Gandhi/ Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
Shri P.K.Banerjee

Shri S. Ravishankar /Shri D. Balkrishnan/ SIAM (Ashok Leyland Ltd.)

Shri V.Faustino
Shri P. Gowrishankar/Shri Dwijemdra SIAM (Tata Motors Ltd.,)
Mane/Shri Sharad Bhole/Shri D. S. Patil/
Shri Sambhaji Jaybhay

Shri A. S. Ravikumar SIAM (Daimler India)

Shri Shyam Bute SIAM (VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd.)

Shri K. Nagaraju/ Shri V.G. Kulkarni/ SIAM (Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. TBD)
Shri Tejun Saif
Shri Hirdesh Thakur/ SIAM (Force Motors Ltd.)
Shri Girish S . Kodolikar
Shri Uday Harite Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of
India (ACMA)
Shri Uddhav Kate/Shri S. B. Kolhe Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC)

Dr. Sudarshan Kamal CCOE, Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization

Shri Bhim Wadhwa/ Shri Bal Malkit All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC),
Singh/ Shri Amit Lal Madan

Shri B. Channa Reddy All India Confederation of Goods Vehicle Owners’

Associations (AICOGOA)

Chief Engineer Transport (Operation)/ The BEST Undertaking

Shri S. R. Deshpande

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 AIS-056 (Rev 1)

Managing Director Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC)

Chief Engineer Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC)

Shri B. R. Jagadeesh Chandra Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)

President/Shri Ashok Kumar Collaborative Advance Research for Transportation

(CART)
* At the time of approval of this Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)

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 AIS-056 (Rev 1)
ANNEXURE 7
(See Introduction)

Composition of AISC for Vehicles with GVW of more than 3.5 Tonnes *

Director, Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) Chairman

Representative from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) Member

Representative from the Dept. of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Member
Industry & Public Enterprises (DHI, MoHI & PE)

Representative from Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) Member

Representative from Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) Member

Representative from Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change & Member
(MoEF & CC)
Representative from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Member

Representative from National Automotive Testing, Research and Member

Infrastructure project (NATRiP)

Representative from Vehicle Research & Development Establishment Member

(VRDE)
Representative from International Centre of Automotive Technology (ICAT) Member
Representative from Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) Member
3 Representatives from Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Members
2 Representatives Automotive Component Manufacturers Association Members
(ACMA)
2 Representatives from State Transport Department on rotation on bi annual Members
basis
Representative from Association of State Road Transport Undertakings Member
(ASRTU)
Representative from Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Member
Association (ICEMA)
Representative from Tractors Manufacturers Association (TMA) Member

3 Representatives from Association/Organisations of Bus Body Builders, Members

Truck Body Builders and Trailer Builders

2 Representatives from Associations/ Organisations of Fleet Operators of Members

Buses and Trucks, respectively
Representative from Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) Member
Secretary

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 AIS-056 (Rev 1)

ANNEXURE 8

(See Introduction)

AISC COMPOSITION*

Automotive Industry Standards Committee

Chairperson
Mrs. Rashmi Urdhwareshe Director
The Automotive Research Association of India, Pune

Members Representing
Shri Priyank Bharti Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
(Dept. of Road Transport and Highways), New Delhi

Representative from Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

(Department of Heavy Industry), New Delhi
Shri S. M. Ahuja Office of the Development Commissioner, MSME,
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, New
Delhi
Shri Shrikant R. Marathe Former Chairman, AISC
Shri R.R. Singh Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi
Director Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune
Director Global Automotive Research Centre
Director International Centre for Automotive Technology, Manesar
Director Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehra Dun
Director Indian Rubber Manufacturers Research Association
Director Vehicles Research and Development Establishment,
Ahmednagar
Representatives from Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
Shri T. R. Kesavan Tractor Manufacturers Association, New Delhi
Shri Uday Harite Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of
India, New Delhi

Member Secretary
Shri Vikram Tandon
Dy. General Manager
The Automotive Research Association of India, Pune

* At the time of approval of this Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)

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