Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/741843
32 commercial carrier journal | october 2016 Volvo shows off SuperTruck, touts 88% efficiency boost V olvo Trucks North America unveiled the fruits of its SuperTruck program last month in Washington D.C., capping a five-year development project that ultimately eclipsed its freight efficiency bench- marks by more than 75 percent. Through a combination of advanced aerodynamics and vehicle and power- train technologies, the Swedish-engi- neered SuperTruck achieved a freight efficiency improvement of 88 percent – exceeding the 50 percent improve- ment goal set by the U.S. Department of Energy's SuperTruck program. While Volvo's SuperTruck itself likely never will reach production, many of the technologies implemented during the project are already on the highway. Volvo's 2016 VNL models feature a re- vised bumper design that was developed by the project, and the 2016 VNL 630 and 670 each got a flared chassis faring. Also for 2016, the VNL 670 received a more aerodynamic roof profile. These changes in design, said Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North Amer- ica, led to a 3.5 percent improvement in fuel economy for the VNL 670. SuperTruck-led technologies will spearhead much of Volvo's 2017 powertrain, including a wave piston, a one-box aftertreatment system, common-rail fuel injection and a tur- bo-compounding option for the D13. Nyberg said all told, this accounts for up to a 6.5 percent boost in fuel efficiency. "As much went into [SuperTruck] en- gine redesign as did the truck redesign," said Pascal Amar, principal investigator for the project. "Every part was rede- signed or optimized if there was room to optimize. All these technologies were studied, evaluated and tweaked [on SuperTruck]." Exterior design Volvo's aerodynamic SuperTruck has a shorter front end than conventional trucks on the road today, and the hood features a sharp downward slope. Lightweight fairings run the length of the tractor and trailer. Volvo redesigned the chassis using almost entirely aluminum, which halved the chassis weight and contributed to an overall tractor-trailer weight reduction of 3,200 pounds. Amar said design- ers found through the development process that a low-slung bumper designed to force air un- derneath the truck and trailer didn't provide much benefit. Engineers then focused on designs that threw air around the tractor and the trailer's side fairing. The SuperTruck concept vehicle also features top-of-cab solar panels, which provide power to the battery and interi- or lights. While designers wanted to stick with the cab's existing structural architecture, SuperTruck's cab sits 3 inches taller and is moved forward about 8 inches than a traditional VNL. SuperTruck powertrain An enhanced version of Volvo's I-See – a new feature that memorizes routes and uses that geographic knowledge to optimize cruise speed and keep the I-Shift automated manual transmission in the most fuel-efficient gear possible – was an integral part of the fuel efficiency gains seen during SuperTruck's on-road testing. The SuperTruck powertrain includes a Rankine waste-heat recovery system that converts heat normally wasted through exhaust into torque, boosting fuel economy by helping to power the vehicle. – Jason Cannon Volvo's SuperTruck team focused on trailer gap, tail, roof and skirt fairings and how the air interacted with them while moving down the sides of the combination. Volvo's SuperTruck tractor-trailer concept combination vehicle boosted fuel efficiency by 70 percent, exceeding its 12 mpg target. Some test runs showed more than 13 mpg. A key part of SuperTruck's fuel efficiency gains was the downsized 425-hp D11 engine that features advanced systems for fuel injection, cooling, oil and turbocharging. Cameras have replaced rearview mirrors – a small detail that offered about a 1.5 percent efficiency improvement.