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Being in Australia we have some different regulations on emissions standards..I think with the Hydrogen (Especially using the Plazma Reformers) the emissions drop considerably..as the Plazma Reformer creates in effect 4 gasses to re-inject back into the engine..
These are primarily used to reduce emissions including Nox across different engines (A lot are designed for use in mining environments for obvious reasons).
Side effect is that with diesel from what I can find, injecting Hydrogen , and nitrogen into an engine allows for a change to the combustion ingredients, allowing for a shorter, quicker flame front to ignite the diesel more rapidly..with some timing changes to account for this, more power stroke is achieved relative to intake stroke ignition events (gasses expanding post TDC instead of some expanding prior..). Combining this with the ability to run much leaner due to ease of ignition on the diesel / gas fuel combination. I am hopeful to achieve up to 30% fuel improvement just with the gaseous implementation and tuning..(Of note, tuning on its own without the gaseous supplmentation, with emissions still retained has net very little gains..around 2-3% maximum...)
On a big rig this is a HUGE number..We have previously been spending 80k converting older rigs to the latest ISX Cummins engines to obtain 5-10% fuel savings as a comparison!.
Aero and Friction I think are going to provide comparable gains..The Director of Operations has been trialling adhoc aero pieces (EG moon wheels on otherwise poor aero trucks), and gaining inconsequential improvements. I believe this is a simple case of streamlining airflow over the wheels is useless if the air passing around the trailer before and after the wheels is turbulent already due to lack of sideskirts etc...
I think the only way to perform the aero is to complete one entire truck..from tractor to trailer..and compare it on before / after...I do not have a wind tunnel to measure each device individually so will instead focus on improving laminar airflow wherever i can (flares / skirts / ducts / cheek bones / vortex generators to create "air curtains" etc), and reduce frontal impact area with as much smoothing as possible (Different hoods, bumpers, trying to use vortex generators to "shape" the air between leading edge of bonnet and windscreen , same with leading edge to front wheel well..etc)
I forgot to list alignments for the wheels..this is a critical obviously..Thankyou for reminding me!!
The Power Steering and Engine Fans I actually "stole" the information from the super truck program on these..they are both hydraulic (Fan is a viscous mechanical fan powered by the ancillary drive belt on the engine..and the power steering pump is a huge device on the same belt)
Both of these use a LOT of power all the time...by using an electric fan the unit is not in use 95% of the time (Highway haulage)...and by using a smaller hydraulic unit, supplemented by an electric unit for the steering gains as much as 3% were realized in Kenworth testing (To be implemented on future models from what information I have discovered so far)
I agree with Driver training being a critical as well..a variance in industry monitoring of 30% exists between a good driver and a bad driver in the same rig..to this end I am setting up a few "carrot" style solutions..Drivers will be ranked using telemetry data focusing on good drivers at the top (braking events, harsh acceleration, fuel burn (from baseline on each vehicle), etc...). They will then be awarded prizes monthly for the top drivers...conversely we in the head office will know which are the bad drivers..and then can shift them to lower effective routes..
We are also implementing a full routing solution that optimises fleet mileage..so far the preliminary testing has achieved a net 5% reduction in miles required for our fleet (Minimal..but when you equate 35,000,000kms annually across the fleet..thats a LOT of savings)
Super Singles - I think with the enhanced risk of being stranded on our very poor Australian roads, that I will most likely have to shelve this idea for the time being..I am having the tyre suppliers return with pricing and gains, and have them advise on risks as well..but suspect they wont be allowed for safety and reliability issues..
Happy for any more feedback ..I am hoping to finalize my presentation and start the project inside of 2 months ..(I am also waiting on the primary vendor to complete their empirical testing of the entire solution (Plazma Hydrogen / Tuning / Water Injection) and provide their logs to me...they are stating up to 50% fuel gains with their solution in their preliminary testing on their test mules..I wont hold my breath..but promising to say the least!)
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