This poster provides information about NREL's evaluation of the fuel savings potential of semi-automated truck platooning. Platooning involves reducing aerodynamic drag by grouping vehicles together and decreasing the distance between them through the use of electronic coupling, which allows multiple vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously. The U.S. Department of Energy's interest in platooning stems from the opportunity to reduce petroleum consumption. This work addresses the need for data and analysis on what aspects of operation can impact platooning savings and what can be done to maximize the savings realized.
This poster provides information about NREL's evaluation of the fuel savings potential of semi-automated truck platooning. Platooning involves reducing aerodynamic drag by grouping vehicles together and decreasing the distance between them through the use of electronic coupling, which allows multiple vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously. The U.S. Department of Energy's interest in platooning stems from the opportunity to reduce petroleum consumption. This work addresses the need for data and analysis on what aspects of operation can impact platooning savings and what can be done to maximize the savings realized.
This poster provides information about NREL's evaluation of the fuel savings potential of semi-automated truck platooning. Platooning involves reducing aerodynamic drag by grouping vehicles together and decreasing the distance between them through the use of electronic coupling, which allows multiple vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously. The U.S. Department of Energy's interest in platooning stems from the opportunity to reduce petroleum consumption. This work addresses the need for data and analysis on what aspects of operation can impact platooning savings and what can be done to maximize the savings realized.
This presentation summarizes NREL's recent class 8 tractor trailer platooning testing, including analysis of SAE J1321 Type II fuel consumption testing, fuel consumption improvement, fuel economy and platooning position accuracy.
This poster describes the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's evaluation of the fuel savings potential of semi-automated truck platooning. Platooning involves reducing aerodynamic drag by grouping vehicles together and decreasing the distance between them through the use of electronic coupling, which allows multiple vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously. The NREL study addressed theneed for data on American style line-haul sleeper cabs with modern aerodynamics and over a range of trucking speeds common in the United States.
This poster describes the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's evaluation of the fuel savings potential of semi-automated truck platooning. Platooning involves reducing aerodynamic drag by grouping vehicles together and decreasing the distance between them through the use of electronic coupling, which allows multiple vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously. The NREL study addressed the need for data on American style line-haul sleeper cabs with modern aerodynamics and over a range of trucking speeds common in the United States.
A truck platooning system was tested using two heavy-duty tractor-trailer trucks on a closed test track to investigate the sensitivity of intentional lateral offsets over a range of intervehicle spacings. The fuel consumption for both trucks in the platoon was measured using the SAE J1321 gravimetric procedure while travelling at 65 mph and loaded to a gross weight of 65,000 lb. In addition, the SAE J1939 instantaneous fuel rate was calibrated against the gravimetric measurements and used as proxy for additional analyses. The testing campaign demonstrated the effects of intervehicle gaps, following-vehicle longitudinal control, and manual lateral control. The new results are compared to previous truck-platooning studies to reinforce the value of the new information and demonstrate similarity to past trends. Fuel savings for the following vehicle was observed to exceed 10% at closer following distances. The results showed that energy savings generally increased in a non-linear fashion as the gap was reduced. The impact of different following-truck lateral offsets had a measurable impact, with up to 4% reduction in total fuel-savings (relative to an isolated vehicle condition) observed for offsets up to 1.3 m. The fuel-consumption savings on the straight segments of the track exceeded those on the curved segments by upwards of 6% and highlight some potential differences expected between close-track testing and on-highway use.
This edited book comprises papers about the impacts, benefits and challenges of connected and automated cars. It is the third volume of the LNMOB series dealing with Road Vehicle Automation. The book comprises contributions from researchers, industry practitioners and policy makers, covering perspectives from the U.S., Europe and Japan. It is based on the Automated Vehicles Symposium 2015 which was jointly organized by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in July 2015. The topical spectrum includes, but is not limited to, public sector activities, human factors, ethical and business aspects, energy and technological perspectives, vehicle systems and transportation infrastructure. This book is an indispensable source of information for academic researchers, industrial engineers and policy makers interested in the topic of road vehicle automation.
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.
