Under the motto “Efficiency on the road” Voith will be presenting its latest products and solutions for trucks, buses and coaches at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show to be held at Hannover during September 19-27. The focus is on higher efficiency, reduced emissions and lower operating costs. Among the highlights are the new ElvoDrive technology concept and the Aquatarder SWR, the world’s first secondary water retarder.
For the globally active commercial vehicle supplier, the future of public transport lies in the increased efficiency of drive systems. With its eyes firmly on emission-free driving, Voith is presenting the ElvoDrive, a serial hybrid drive that transmits the required power as 100 per cent electrical energy, so that the combustion engine can always be operated within its lowest specific fuel consumption range. Future design stages will also allow purely electric drives, range extender or plug-in concepts. The advantages of the ElvoDrive in future city buses are thus highly diverse: from simply reducing fuel consumption to emission-free electric driving over short distances.
Savings potential lies also in a new efficiency package presented by Voith in Hanover. It consists of the new DIWA.6 automatic transmission, the topography-dependent SensoTop gear-shifting program and the DIWA SmartNet telemetric system. The basis is the new DIWA.6, which can save another five per cent of fuel compared to its predecessor model. These savings can be achieved by controlling the operating pressure in the transmission. It can be lowered to up to five bar, saving nearly three per cent of diesel. This is added by an intelligent start-up management, as well as the SensoTop gear-shifting program. In combination with a new torsional vibration damper, the program allows gear-shifting at even lower speeds and thus cuts down on consumption.
The efficiency package is completed by the SmartNet telemetric system. In order to minimize downtimes, the bus is sending its operating data to a server via GPRS. In the event of a transmission fault, the operator is informed and can react instantly before the bus breaks down. Preventive maintenance keeps buses longer on the road and cuts down on workshop stops.
Another product making its debut at the show is the perfect solution for buses and other commercial vehicles with high air consumption: with the LP 725 Voith offers the three-cylinder compressor now also in an aluminum lightweight construction. From 2013, the LP 725 is intended for the new generation of Euro 6 engines. Voith air compressors stand out against single-stage compressor by higher specific displacement volumes. They consume less energy and reach the end pressure at lower compression temperatures, thanks to intermediate cooling.
The Aquatarder SWR, the world’s first secondary water retarder, increases its application spectrum: from the start of series production it is available in the new Mercedes-Benz Antos distribution truck. The water retarder operates with the cooling agent of the engine and is thus maintenance-free: compared with oil retarders, between 6 and 12 litres of oil can be saved annually per vehicle. There is also no need for waste oil disposal and workshop stops for oil changing. With its extremely compact design it uses 50 per cent less installation space and is 35 kg lighter than a comparable oil retarder.
Retarders can assume up to 90 per cent of all vehicle braking operations. This protects the service brake and reduces brake dust emissions by up to 80 per cent.
Voith Turbo, the specialist for hydrodynamic drive, coupling and braking systems for road, rail and industrial applications, as well as for ship propulsion systems, is a Group Division of Voith GmbH.
Voith sets standards in the markets for energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, it employs almost 40,000 people, generates Euro 5.6 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.