Welcome to the final Part in our four Part series examining how the push for greater fuel efficiency is changing the trucking industry, from design to operation. Up to now, we’ve examined everything from new technologies to incremental improvements, but we still haven’t touched greatly on the actual design aesthetic of the truck.
|
|
If you have seen any of the recent SuperTruck designs, you know that the big rig of the future is going to look like an entirely different beast from the big rig of today. Take the Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience – or WAVE – as one example.
A Part of the WAVE
First unveiled at several trade shows last year, Walmart’s WAVE concept truck certainly was a head-turner. The basic reason is that the truck’s futuristic design was unlike anything that had come before it.
Not only was its design a real departure, but it’s conception was also something new, considering the truck represented a collaboration between a manufacturer and a leading private fleet. If there’s no other sign of how inclusive the fuel economy effort has become, it’s this one.
Fortunately, there was more to this design than just looking different. The WAVE concept vehicle also managed to reduce aerodynamic drag by around 20 percent, no small number.
And while it may never end up in production, elements of the truck will be incorporated into future truck chassis platforms. The futuristic design of the WAVE concept truck represented the leading edge of design elements in aerodynamics, advanced powertrains, renewable fuels, wireless connectivity, and a center-seat design.
The Future Lies in Platooning
At the same time, heavy vehicle engineers from around the world are finding creative ways to identify and implement efficiency gains, using a number of methods, some of which are quite unconventional.
Vehicle control systems allow the use of GPS and 3D digital mapping to predict where the vehicle should go, whether over hilly terrain or through mountain passes. Intelligent cruise control allows gear selection to follow the fuel efficiency playbook.
When combined with vehicle safety systems, lane-departure and blind spot warnings, camera systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems, you get platooning.
Trucks in a platoon use V2V communication to optimize their road speeds, braking actions and other safety systems in order to maintain the closest possible following distances. Once the vehicles are electromagnetically tied together, these vehicles can sometimes follow as closely as 20 feet.
At those distances, a three-truck platoon could see a fuel savings boost of around 3 percent on a good day for the lead vehicle. The second vehicle gets 7 percent and the final vehicle 9 percent.
Being able to take advantage of aerodynamic forces the right way significantly improves your overall fuel efficiency. Although platooning measures aren’t cheap, expect to continue to see them continue gaining ground… but how much so?
The Future of Platooning
Although truck platooning may seem like a far-fetched fantasy, recent high profile demonstrations prove the concept is more than just a fleeting idea. Surely, there are engineering hurdles to get passed, but it is likely we will see truck platoons cruising down our nation’s highways sooner rather than later.
With more demonstrations already in the pipe – such as a collaboration between Volvo and the University of California-Berkeley – expect to see more news hitting the trucking airways, where truck platooning is concerned.
According to many industry insiders, the problem with platooning doesn’t lie in the truck technology, but in how it will be applied in real world, on-road applications. After all, safety should always be number one.
The Future of Fuel Efficiency – Defined
Through this long look at the evolution of fuel efficiency standards, it should have become apparent that the rules of the road are changing. It seems that in today’s trucking industry, nothing is off the table where fuel efficiency enhancement is concerned.
While old technologies are examined through a new lens, new technologies are changing the name of the game. The fact is, a new era of super clean and efficient trucks is almost upon us. Just as when diesel engines changed the game almost 70 years ago, expect the push for greater fuel efficiency to change it again.
|
|
Will we soon see a day when those old-fashioned, extended-nosed, slab-grilled tractors are finally eased into retirement? Only time will tell.