Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles evaluates various technologies and methods that could improve the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, transit buses, and work trucks. The book also recommends approaches that federal agencies could use to regulate these vehicles' fuel consumption. Currently there are no fuel consumption standards for such vehicles, which account for about 26 percent of the transportation fuel used in the U.S. The miles-per-gallon measure used to regulate the fuel economy of passenger cars. is not appropriate for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which are designed above all to carry loads efficiently. Instead, any regulation of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles should use a metric that reflects the efficiency with which a vehicle moves goods or passengers, such as gallons per ton-mile, a unit that reflects the amount of fuel a vehicle would use to carry a ton of goods one mile. This is called load-specific fuel consumption (LSFC). The book estimates the improvements that various technologies could achieve over the next decade in seven vehicle types. For example, using advanced diesel engines in tractor-trailers could lower their fuel consumption by up to 20 percent by 2020, and improved aerodynamics could yield an 11 percent reduction. Hybrid powertrains could lower the fuel consumption of vehicles that stop frequently, such as garbage trucks and transit buses, by as much 35 percent in the same time frame.
Author(s): Committee to Assess Fuel Economy Technologies for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, National Research Council, Transportation Research Board
Publisher: National Academies Press
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 251
Tags: Транспорт;Технология и организация перевозок;
FrontMatter......Page 2
Acknowledgments......Page 8
Contents......Page 10
Tables and Figures......Page 12
Summary......Page 18
1 Introduction......Page 26
2 Vehicle Fundamentals, Fuel Consumption, and Emissions......Page 34
3 Review of Current Regulatory Approaches for Trucks and Cars......Page 58
4 Power Train Technologies for Reducing Load-Specific Fuel Consumption......Page 68
5 Vehicle Technologies for Reducing Load-Specific Fuel Consumption......Page 108
6 Costs and Benefits of Integrating Fuel Consumption Reduction Technologies into Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles......Page 148
7 Alternative Approaches to Reducing Fuel Consumption in Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles......Page 176
8 Approaches to Fuel Economy and Regulations......Page 196
Appendixes......Page 214
Appendix A: Statement of Task......Page 216
Appendix B: Presentations and Committee Meetings......Page 218
Appendix C: Committee Biographical Sketches......Page 222
Appendix D: Abbreviations and Acronyms......Page 228
Appendix E: Fuel Economy and Fuel Consumption as Metrics to Judge the Fuel Efficiency of Vehicles......Page 232
Appendix F: Details of Aerodynamic Trailer Device Technology......Page 236
Appendix G: Vehicle Simulation......Page 238
Appendix H: Model-Based Design......Page 244
