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The SHIFT-MATE is a dashboard mounted computer based device that cues a truck driver to shift more efficiently. Through electronic circuitry, key vehicle parameters are monitored, computed, then via graphic display, instructs the driver when to shift for improved fuel economy. The theory of operation is described in the text.

Due to ever soaring fuel costs and even more stringent emission regulations which require more elaborate technical efforts and unfortunately lead to a negative trend on fuel economy as well, todays and future trucking business is extremely challenged. These facts create an urgent requirement for the engine manufacturer to offer an engine with an optimized cost-benefit-ratio for the trucking business. Mercedes-Benz, as the leader in the European commercial vehicle market - of which e. g. high fuel costs, long maintenance intervals and high engine power-to-weight ratios have always been key characteristics - has developed a new class 8 engine for the US market. The MBE 4000 is a 6 cylinder inline engine in the compact size and low weight category, but due to its displacement of 12,8 liters it offers high performance characteristics like heavier big block engines.

Powertrain electrification is becoming increasingly common in the transportation sector to address the challenges of global warming and deteriorating air quality. This paper introduces a novel “Build Your Hybrid” approach to experience and test various hybrid powertrain concepts. This approach is applied to the light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment due to the attractive combination of a Diesel engine and a partly electrified powertrain. For this purpose, a demonstrator vehicle has been set up with a flexible P02 hybrid topology and a prototype Hybrid Control Unit (HCU). Based on user input, the HCU software modifies the control functions and simulation models to emulate different sub-topologies and levels of hybridization in the demonstrator vehicle. Three powertrain concepts are considered for LCVs: HV P2, 48V P2 and 48V P0 hybrid. Dedicated hybrid control strategies are developed to take full advantage of the synergies of the electrical system and reduce CO2 and NOx emissions.

With the increase in demand for energy sustainability projects over the last few years, the Brazilian commercial vehicle industry was guided to develop projects based on ESG policies. Aligned with this need, an initiative that ended up becoming a reality was the “e-Sys” electrification solution, by the company Suspensys. This solution includes a power source (battery), an e-powertrain (motors, inverters and drive axle) and an intelligent control system (VCU with embedded code and sensors). The main motivational drive was the hybridization of semi-trailers, in order to generate a reduction in fuel consumption in cargo transport in Brazil, in addition to the consequent reduction in the emission of particles into the environment and promoting the safety of the operation. It was also adopted, as a premise of the project, that the electrification system was totally independent of the truck’s electronic system (stand alone system), in order to facilitate the operation of the fleet owner.

This SAE Standard specifies requirements and design guidelines for electrical wiring systems of less than 50 V and cable diameters from 0.35 to 19 mm2 used on off-road, self-propelled earthmoving machines as defined in SAE J1116 and agricultural tractors as defined in ASAE S390.

This SAE Standard specifies requirements and design guidelines for electrical wiring systems of less than 50 V and cable diameters from 0.35 to 19 mm2 used on off-road, self-propelled earthmoving machines as defined in SAE J1116 and agricultural tractors as defined in ASAE S390.

Knitted wiremesh along with radial gas tight seals provide reliable mounting system for low temperature underbody converters. The compression characteristics of the wiremesh is modified by wire material, wire diameter, wire geometry, mesh crimp heights; wire density, wiremesh courses per inch, needle count, number of strands, wiremesh temper, wiremesh surface profile and surface characteristics. The radial mounting pressure provided by the wiremesh is matched with the mounting pressure requirement. Wiremesh systems can be tailored to any required radial mounting pressure from conventional to ultra thin-wall substrates. The wiremesh mounting system is proven durable, without any failure on more than 25 million underbody converters in light duty vehicles. Cp and Cpk show the capability of the manufacturing process. Thus the wiremesh mounting support is a viable alternate for low temperature gasoline and diesel applications.

The published SAE J2954 standard established an industry-wide specification that defines acceptable criteria for interoperability, electromagnetic compatibility, EMF, minimum performance, safety, and testing for wireless power transfer (WPT) for light-duty plug-in electric vehicles. This SAE Information Report, SAE J2954/2, defines new power transfer levels in the higher power ranges needed for heavy-duty electric vehicles. This document addresses the requirements based on these charge levels and different vehicle applications as a first step in the process of completing a standard that the industry can use, both for private (fleet) and public wireless power transfer, including for charging electric vehicle batteries. This document is the first step in a process towards HD static and dynamic WPT. This document lacks specific requirements and solutions, for which field data is needed.

The development of this vehicle is described from concept, through design and assembly. The design intent of this unique vehicle was high fuel efficiency, good ride and handling characteristics, and a high degree of passenger safety at a competitive cost. A combination of some of the latest in automotive and motor home construction technology was used to meet the desired goals.

The trucking industry is being encouraged by environmental and cost factors to improve fuel efficiency. One factor that affects fuel efficiency is the aerodynamic design of the vehicles; that is, the vehicles with lower aerodynamic drag will get better mileage, reducing carbon emissions and reducing costs through lower fuel usage. A significant tool towards developing vehicles with lower drag is the wind tunnel. The automobile industry has made great improvements in fuel efficiency by using wind tunnels to determine the best designs to achieve lower drag. Those wind tunnels are not optimum for testing the larger, longer heavy trucks since the wind tunnels are smaller than needed. The estimated costs for a heavy truck wind tunnel based on automotive wind tunnel technology are quite high. A potential nozzle concept to reduce wind tunnel cost and several other new possible approaches to lower wind tunnel costs are presented.

Leading contenders in the search for a superior alternative powerplant for light-duty automotive use include the steam and Stirling engines, the gas turbine, and the diesel. In this paper the status of each of those alternative engines is reviewed and i its prognosis considered. The steam engine is unsuitable because of poor fuel economy. Obstacles blocking acceptance of the Stirling and gas turbine engines are sufficient so that even if they are surmountable, significant-use in light-duty vehicles is unlikely before the 1990s. The light-duty diesel is here today but faces some difficult regulatory hurdles in the near future.

HIGH output per cubic inch of piston displacement is desirable not alone for the purpose of being able to transport more payload faster, but more particularly for the invariably associated byproduct of lower specific fuel consumption, and especially at road-load requirements. The only way of accomplishing this purpose is through the use of higher compression ratios, and the limiting factors for this objective are fuel distribution and the operating temperatures of the component parts. A manifold is proposed which not only definitely improves distribution at both full and road loads, but has the inherent additional advantage of reducing the formation of condensate, thus still further facilitating a reduction in road-load specific fuel consumption. Hydraulic valve lifters, obviation of mechanical and thermal distortion, and controlled water flow are the essentials in improved cooling.

Meet like-minded mobility engineersto discuss new legislation and regulations around thermal management, emissions control, safety, and energy conservation.

The EU Commission's “Clean Power for Transport” initiative aims to break the EU's dependence on imported oil whilst promoting the use of alternative fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Among the options considered is the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a substitute for diesel in long haul trucks. It is interesting to ask how the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of LNG compare with conventional diesel fuel for this application. The LNG available in Europe is mainly imported. This paper considers the “well-to-tank” emissions of LNG from various production routes, including: gas production, treatment and liquefaction, shipping to Europe, terminal, distribution and refuelling operations. “Tank-to-Wheel” emissions are considered for a range of currently-available engine technologies of varying efficiency relative to diesel.

Welding has been used extensively in automotive components design due to its flexibility to be applied in manufacturing, high structural strength and low cost. To improve fuel economy and reduce material cost, weight reduction by optimized structural design has been a high priority in auto industry. In the majority of heavy duty vehicle's chassis components design, the ability to predict the mechanical performance of welded joints is the key to success of structural optimization. FEA (finite element analysis) has been used in the industry to analyze welded parts. However, mesh sensitivity and material properties have been major issues due to geometry irregularity, metallurgical degradation of the base material, and inherent residual stress associated with welded joints. An approach, equilibrium-equivalent structural stress method, led by Battelle and through several joint industrial projects (JIP), has been developed.

The entire commercial vehicle industry is moving towards weight reduction to leverage on the latest materials available to benefit in payload & fuel efficiency. General practice of weight reduction using high strength steel with reduced thickness in reference to Roark’s formula does not consider the stiffness & dent performance. While this helps to meet the targeted weight reduction keeping the stress levels within the acceptable limit, but with a penalty on stiffness & dent performance. The parameters of stiffener like thickness, section & pitching are very important while considering the Stiffness, bucking & dent performance of a dumper body. The Finite Element Model of subject dumper body has been studied in general particularly on impact of dent performance and is correlated with road load data to provide unique solution to the product. The impact of payload during loading of dumper is the major load case.

After a review of current and future emission legislation for non-road engines (India, Europe, USA), the various options available to reduce the emissions of diesel tractor engines are discussed. Special emphasis is put on naturally aspirated engines in the 37 - 50 kW power range. AVL has recently designed and developed several naturally aspirated heavy-duty diesel tractor engines to comply with current exhaust emissions standards for the Indian domestic and the US markets (EPA Tier 2). In doing so, different levels of technologies were applied. Their impact on mean effective pressure, specific fuel consumption and emissions will be shown. The future non-road engine exhaust emissions legislation in different markets will be addressed (India, Europe and USA). Compliance with the new emission standards will require the introduction of more advanced technology.

Separation of water from vegetable oil base stocks for environmentally acceptable tractor/hydraulic fluids was studied. Mixtures of canola, a representative vegetable oil, with mineral oil and three synthetic esters were emulsified and allowed to separate. In additional work, hydrogen bonding interfering compounds, alcohols and nitrogen containing compounds, were added to base stocks and finished fluids to improve the water rejection properties. Two of the synthetic esters were found to improve water rejection in economical concentrations, while the other formed a stable emulsion with the vegetable oil and water. The mineral oil tested formed a stable water-in-oil emulsion with low concentrations of canola oil, then reacheed a maximum rejection concentration as the canola increased, since canola forms a oil-in-water emulsion. The hydrogen bonding inhibitors worked with base stocks but were not helpful when the additive package was included.

A significant driver for the development of future commercial vehicles is likely to be the introduction of fuel consumption related legislation in various regions around the world. The application of a waste heat recovery system to the powertrain of such vehicles is seen as a possible step, amongst many, to help them achieve the required fuel economy. In particular, the Rankine Cycle (a closed steam cycle) is often proposed as a potential means for deriving work from the engine exhaust heat. Rankine Cycle systems are already in use in off-highway applications, such as stationary engines or marine power-packs. However, the technical and commercial viability of these systems for on-highway, principally long haul truck application is as yet unproven. Aspects such as the in-use economy benefits, the system performance density, the component robustness and all interactions with the other vehicle systems have to be evaluated.

An increase in global oil consumption, coupled with a peak in oil production, has seen the price of fuel escalate in recent years, and consequently the transport sector must take measures to reduce fuel consumption in vehicles. Similarly, ever-tightening emissions legislation is forcing automotive manufacturers to invest in technology to reduce toxic emissions. In response to these concerns, this project aims to address one of the fundamental issues with the Internal Combustion Engine - approximately one third of the fuel energy supplied to the engine is lost as heat through the exhaust system. The specific aim of this project is to reduce the fuel consumption of a diesel-electric hybrid bus by recovering some of this waste heat and converting it to useful power. This report details how turbocompounding can be applied to the engine, via the inclusion of a turbogenerator, and assesses its waste heat recovery performance.