Search Results

The problems of global warming and energy efficiency are well known, discussed worldwide and subject of numerous conferences and treaties. In Brazil, Government actions prioritized passenger cars, as in Program Rota 30, there are not yet comprehensive actions and programs defined for heavy commercial vehicles. Development of methodologies for fuel consumption measurement tests under real road conditions can contribute for raising truck energy efficiency. Tests on energy efficiency, emissions and fuel consumption for trucks and other heavy vehicles are held usually on stationary devices and by computer simulations. Currently there is an increasing global trend for testing on road under real test conditions. Standard SAE J1321 201202 revised 20-12-06 defines 80 km length for on road fuel consumption tests of commercial heavy vehicles. The repetitiveness is impaired due to traffic conditions on open roads.

Environmental damage and climate change, air pollution, energy efficiency, fuel consumption and emissions are subjects for studies and legislations worldwide. Brazil must therefore be prepared to follow global trends in energy optimization tests and developments, including Euro 6 equivalent emission legislation. Considering the worldwide tendency for Real Driving Condition Test for heavy vehicles, the authors, using the developed Towing Trailer Prototype provided with an electromagnetic brake, performed fuel consumption on-road tests. For measuring fuel consumption on-road or on testing tracks, the developed system allows initially measurements with an independent auxiliary tank for short distances and measurement with an auxiliary tank connected with the truck tank for long distances. The tests were performed on road in real conditions initially by maximum speeds of 75 km/h.

Durability tests of commercial vehicles are performed on road running uphill and downhill as well as on flat roads; these tests take very long time and have high costs. To lower test time and costs, it is proposed to accelerate the durability tests of commercial vehicles power trains by using a Towing Trailer with an electromagnetic (EM) brake, developed in Brazil, simulating uphill. This Trailer was already presented [1], [2] for cooling test simulation at 20 km/h on commercial vehicles up to 250 HP. In the cabin (cab) of the vehicle under test, there are the braking level control and a laptop, which receives wireless and registers the operational parameters of the Towing Trailer. The GPS in the truck cabin (cab) supply information such as time, speed, latitude and longitude allowing the control of the route.