Heavy Duty Trucking, June 2017
HDT JUNE 2017 44 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM onstrate ways of reducing emissions and improving freight efficiency not to pass the market test for feasibility cost benefit and fleet acceptance That said we saw clutched air compressors that cut in only when the truck was coasting or braking not when it was running under power thus harvesting energy from the momentum of the vehicle We saw components such as fans oil and water pumps and the like operating at variable speeds and on an as needed basis further eliminating draw on the engine We even saw an old idea reimagined in a louvered radiator opening that remains closed most of the time for better aerodynamics and opens only when air flow is needed for cooling give up a lot of height at the door opening Interestingly Navistar says the aero treatment applied to the trailer has more of an impact on the tractor rather than the other way around Dean Oppermann chief engineer for advanced vehicles and the SuperTruck group at International told me his team approached the aero problem from back to front An engineer from another OE once told me it would make great sense for the truck makers to acquire their own trailer manufacturer and to begin designing trailers to match their tractors aero profiles Semi advanced technology The four SuperTruck projects yielded an impressive list of what I respectfully refer to as semi advanced technology new ways of looking at an old problem By the projects nature everything was a bit of a science project intended to dem Aero enhancements like this custombuilt trailer nose and roof fairing contributed more than 30 to the reduction in fuel consumption on the Peterbilt Cummins SuperTruck SPECIAL ISSUE CUTTING FUEL COSTS The rear of Daimlers trailer featured a rear fairing a sculpted underride guard and tapered lower side skirts The concept was similar across all four trucks but execution was slightly different Daimlers SuperTruck was the second project completed It was unveiled at the 2015 Mid America Trucking Show At 122 mpg it achieved a 115 freight efficiency improvement and hit 502 brake thermal efficiency There were some interesting tweaks to electrical systems where 48 volt charging and storage systems were used to power components such as HVAC compressors and hotel loads on three voltage busses 12 24 and 48 volts Each different voltage was assigned to a component or system that operated more efficiently at a voltage other than the current 12 volts We also saw wide use of lithium ion storage cells as well as AGM batteries for hotel loads and ultra capacitors for starting Each of these has its own advantages and when the technology was applied in a thoughtful manner it produced fuelsaving results Lightweighting also got wide exposure across the four projects with something PHOTO JIM PARK PHOTO JIM PARK PHOTO JIM PARK
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