Search Results

The main advantages of electric LDT's, (Light-duty Trucks), namely: lower running and maintenance costs, zero-emissions and eco-friendly image heavily outweigh their disadvantages, specifically their higher charging time compared to ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle refuelling and their shorter range. These advantages make electric LDTs viable because they are compatible with the driving cycles of fleet customers. Noise generated by electric LDTs is expected to be low compared to ICEs; however, the interior and exterior noise has high-frequency noise components that are usually subjectively perceived as unpleasant or annoying. The tonal components present in electric vehicles are judged as unpleasant by the vehicle's occupants, and other noise components that are usually masked by the ICE are clearly perceived, as the overall noise is lower.

The running costs of heavy-duty trucks are strongly influenced by fuel consumption. Even a small improvement in fuel economy has a big effect on fleet cost savings and pollutant contamination. From the different possible sub-systems to be improved, reducing the rolling resistance of the tires is a cost-effective option due to its relatively high influence on the fuel consumption without negatively affecting the overall performance. Nevertheless, the other causes of resistance forces, such as mechanical friction and aerodynamics must be optimized as well. The focus of the work is to propose an accurate methodology specifically for heavy trucks for the proper evaluation of resistance forces to allow accurate fuel consumption simulation. For this purpose, the results obtained in proving ground were post-processed by applying different resistance forces characterization methodologies and the results were analyzed theoretically and numerically.