In Brief
equipment 32 Commercial Carrier Journal April 2009 in brief -ever hybrid truck order from Coca-Cola Enterprises for 150 T370 diesel-electric tractors and 35 T370 hybrid trucks. announced the release of five new commercial vehicle tires: a redesign of its regional steer tire, the HSR2; a new over-the-highway longhaul drive tire, the HDL2 DL; a more fuel-efficient trailer tire, the HTL Eco Plus; a new heavy steer urban tire, the HSU2; and a new wide-based super-single trailer tire, the HTL1. unveiled its LightTruck and eviRoute 1500 market-ready hybrid and all-electric trucks at the National Truck Equipment Association's Work Truck Show in Chicago. Meritor Suspension Systems Co. plans to close by yearend its coil spring operations in Milton, Ontario. The company says it currently is evaluating the transfer of Milton business to the other two MSSC facilities in Chatham, Ontario, and Hopkinsville, Ky. Nissan Commercial Vehicles showcased its NV2500 concept urban delivery truck at the Work Truck Show. Nissan expects the truck, which rides on a modified Titan pickup truck frame, to enter the North American market next year. transmission for light commercial vehicles up to 33,000 pounds at the Work Truck Show. The company says the ZF-PowerLine 6-speed powershift transmission is designed to handle torque levels of 700 and 800 lb-ft and is equally suitable for use with both diesel and gasoline engines. Volvo trucks built with 2010 engine and emissions technology will not require active regen-eration of diesel particulate filters (DPFs) during normal highway operating conditions, Volvo Trucks North America announced last month. Integration of Volvo's selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and DPF technologies will allow for passive regeneration to oxidize accu-mulated soot; injecting diesel fuel into the DPF no longer will be necessary. This, of course, results in reduced fuel consumption, reduced thermal cycling of expen-sive catalysts and lower overall operating costs, said Scott Kress, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Volvo. It also relieves the driver of another responsibility having to keep track of when an active regeneration needs to take place and allows the truck to operate in areas where a recently cycled, and hot, DPF would be a safety hazard indoors or in refineries, for example. Passive regeneration of DPFs depends on having a sufficient concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the hot exhaust stream flowing into the unit's filter. Because SCR eliminates NOx from the exhaust after it flows through the DPF, ample NOx will be available to oxidize soot. In some cases with test trucks working in real-world applications, we've seen the vehicle log more than 45,000 miles without any active regeneration being required, Kress added. In addition, another 23 Volvo test trucks have been driven more than 9 million miles without an active regeneration being necessary. Jack Roberts Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems last month unveiled the Bendix Pneumatic Booster System (PBS), an air management system aimed at improving fuel economy and acceleration while reducing emissions. Placed near the air intake manifold on the engine, the PBS monitors the controller area network, or CAN, for specific signals indicating the need for sys-tem activation. The PBS then injects compressed air from an auxiliary air tank into the engine manifold, delivering the desired amount of air that the diesel combustion processes require. The system is intended to overcome turbo lag, which leads to a delay in response when a driver presses the accelerator. The Bendix PBS system overcomes turbo lag by instanta-neously injecting the desired air into the intake mani-fold, allowing the turbocharger to spin up to its full capacity and taking over the air delivery demands. Bendix said two models of the PBS are avail-able, reaching about 80 percent of engine appli-cations from 4-liter displacement to 13 liters. The system, which represents a diversification of Bendix's vehicle air treat-ment business into powertrain components, currently is undergoing internal validation and field and engine benchmarking. The technology is coming too late for North American engine manufacturers to incorporate it into their 2010 emissions products, but the company is working toward adoption of PBS in the 2012-2013 timeframe. Volvo: SCR eliminates active regen for on-highway 2010 engines mean fewer worries for drivers, company says Bendix introduces engine booster system Bendix is beginning to work with engine manufacturers that might incorporate the Pneumatic Booster System (PBS) air management system in future engines to improve fuel economy and acceleration while reducing emissions.