Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Krone team up to cut emissions

[kscarbel2]

The Financial Times  /  September 18, 2016

Groups to unveil aerodynamic components that promise to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has teamed up with trailer-maker Krone (http://gruppe.krone.de/english/) to sell a package of aerodynamic components that promise to improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon emissions.

The two companies will demonstrate the new products on Thursday at the 66th IAA Commercial Vehicles conference in Hanover, where they hope to show the trucks industry has not been asleep at the wheel when it comes to the environment.

The EU seeks to reduce emissions in the long-haul sector by 30 per cent by 2030, but Daimler — Mercedes’ parent — has been critical of Brussels for focusing narrowly on tyres and engine improvements, rather than the whole picture of how vehicles are actually used.

Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler’s trucks division, said regulators were trying to trim grass that had been lawn-mowed, but there was still grass standing sky high in places where nobody was looking.

“It’s more cumbersome to look at trailer aerodynamics than it is to look at tyre classifications. We need to start looking there — there is a lot to be gained,” he said.

Last year Daimler performed efficiency runs to determine what sort of fuel savings could be gained on heavy-duty lorries equipped with optimised trailers, tractors and tyres, as well as “predictive powertrain control”, a cruise control unit that uses GPS and 3D maps to look ahead and maintain an efficient speed on inclines and declines, saving fuel. The result was 12 to 14 per cent fuel savings.

The lesson was that a few tweaks to the aerodynamism of a lorry would give a completely different air flow for the vehicle. The problem was, Daimler makes tractors — the front part of a heavy duty vehicle housing the engine — not trailers. So Mr Bernhard commissioned Krone, a family-run group and the second largest-trailer maker in Europe, to see if they could churn out a product at an economical cost.

Krone was able to develop a package comprising side panels, a four-part rear wing and “A-label” low-resistance tyres that delivers a 7-9 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency. The “Profi Liner Efficiency” package it will unveil this week will cost €2,000 and be available right away.

Previously something similar would cost €5,000. The lower price is meant to entice haulage companies when they are buying a new vehicle: the average lorry drives 120,000km per year; if a company can save 7-9 per cent in diesel, at €1.10 per litre, the savings will be €2,000 to €2,500 a year, said Gero Schulze Isfort, managing director of sales and marketing at Krone.

The savings could have an outsized affect. Transportation in general accounts for one-quarter of man-made CO2 emissions, and while heavy-duty vehicles account for just 4 per cent of vehicles in the EU they are responsible for 30 per cent of on-road emissions, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.

A retrofit kit for existing vehicles will cost about twice the price, depending on volume, plus assembly cost. Mr Bernhard estimates that would pay for itself after about two years, on average.

“Seven to nine per cent improvement is a huge step,” said Mr Bernhard. For context, he points out in the past 20 years Daimler lorries improved their fuel efficiency by 22 per cent. 

Lab-tested fuel efficiency figures have looked suspect since the Volkswagen emissions scandal was revealed one year ago, so Daimler and Krone first offered the efficiency package to five companies for three months of testing. The companies — Elflein, Grosse-Vehne, Rhenus, Seifert and Wiedmann & Winz — then used the trucks for everyday operation to compare their fuel efficiency with its normal fleet.

“If you want to give a message to customers, you use real-life customers under their weather conditions, their roads, their vehicles,” Mr Isfort said.

Separately, Daimler will be showcasing in Hanover its latest generation Mercedes-Benz Actros model with an OM 471 engine, which saves up to six per cent on fuel. Combined with the Krone products and its cruise-control unit, Daimler says the vehicle is 20 per cent more fuel efficient than a standard semi-trailer-tractor combo from 2014.

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[Dirtymilkman]

How can a cabover be more aerodynamic than a conventional like the new Cascadia? Just wondering. 

[kscarbel2]

28 minutes ago, Dirtymilkman said:

How can a cabover be more aerodynamic than a conventional like the new Cascadia? Just wondering. 

In theory, the European COE "has" a tougher struggle to become aerodynamic than a conventional. And that is why European regulations are going to change, so as to allow a slightly longer cab in the front for enhanced aerodynamics.

However, having said that, when you observe the next generation Scania in the wind tunnel, you can see the truckmaker has achieved virtual perfection in aerodynamics. Frankly speaking, Scania has some brilliant engineers with a life-long passion for truck design.

I really wish you were attending the global IAA show in Hannover. It's good for one's head (eye-opening) to get out of town (or country) and see what's going on around the world.

.

 

[kscarbel2]

Here's a new article on the subject.

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/46938-blown-away/

 

[kscarbel2]

Daimler and Trailer Maker Partner on European Fuel-Efficient Rig

Heavy Duty Trucking / September 30, 2016

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz Truck unit along with Germany-based trailer maker Krone have teamed up to put together a linehaul tractor-trailer they say delivers up to a 20% cut in fuel consumption compared to existing combinations.

The rig, rolled out at the IAA Truck Show in Frankfurt, Germany, consists of the latest generation Mercedes-Benz Actros over-the-road cabover mated to Krone’s new Profi Liner Efficiency, an aerodynamically enhanced curtain-side trailer fitted with low-rolling-resistance tires.  

According to Daimler, the specific Mercedes-Benz Actros unveiled at IAA features an efficiency package that includes the latest generation OM 471 six-cylinder in-line diesel engine as well as the OEM’s Predictive Powertrain Control (described as an “anticipatory cruise control system”) and “A-label” low-rolling-resistance tires.

When combined with the new Krone Profi Liner Efficiency trailer, Daimler said, “it promises a reduction in fuel consumption, and therefore CO2 emissions, of up to 20% compared to existing combinations.” A standard semitrailer-tractor combination from 2014 is the basis of the comparison. The manufacturers said that their second yearly “Efficiency Run” involved five fleet customers that tested the fuel efficiency of the rigs and verified the results.

Daimler and Krone laid out the various contributions that added up to the 20% efficiency gain:

- Krone Profi Liner Efficiency: over 5%
- Mercedes-Benz Actors tractor unit: up to 6%
- Daimler Predictive Powertrain Control: up to 5%

- “A-label” low-rolling-resistance tires on tractor: 2 to 4%

The trailer’s aerodynamics were improved with new self-engineered Krone side panels made of impact-resistant plastic that cover all the sides, including those of the three trailer axles and a four-part folding “rear wing,” also made of robust plastic.

"In 2015, the first Efficiency Run proved that the integrated approach works,” said Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler Truck and Buses, speaking at an IAA press briefing. “Now, just one year later, we are putting products that are fit for series production onto the roads.

"Our optimized semitrailer-tractor combination pays off for the environment and our customers," he continued. "It lowers CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by up to 20%– and the cost can be amortized in about 18 months." 

Gero Schulze Isfort, managing director of Krone Commercial Vehicle Group, pointed out that since the inaugural Efficiency Run in 2015, the company further optimized its trailer “particularly with regard to everyday practicality. Thus, this year we were able to launch another field trial, now ended, which has resulted in a semitrailer that is fit for series production and is now going on the market-- the Profi Liner Efficiency."

The manufacturers noted that the Efficiency Run test did not look solely at fuel savings but also assessed the new trailer's everyday usability. That involved reviewing handling, noise emission, robustness, loading options, and access.

During the three months of testing, the five combinations covered more than 150,000 km (93,200 miles) on German roads. They transported car engines, steel, paper, timber products and building materials over short and long distances.

According to the drivers on the run, the new trailer proved its worth in day-to-day operation. Loading is possible from all sides and from the top and it was reported that using a forklift to load from the side works as smoothly as with a conventional trailer, despite the side panels. No damage to the side panels was noticed during the testing. Reverse docking to a loading ramp was also completed without difficulty as long as the four-part rear wing is folded before opening the rear-doors. Based on feedback from drivers, this takes just a few seconds.

The manufacturers also said the structural system for the side panels was “singled out for high praise.” It comprises five individual elements that can be removed easily by hand at the height of the trailer axles, “an important consideration when a wheel needs to be changed.” It was also noted that the lightweight plastic side panels (a proprietary Krone design) are “so stable that they do not cause any wind noise.”