Word reaches Biglorryblog that those clever engineers at Volvo have created a method for constructing a truck that means it weighs less - but can carry the same payload. "Lighter vehicles would entail a significant reduction in fuel consumption and thus carbon dioxide emissions," says the official blurb. 'How so Biglorryblog?' I hear you cry. Well click through here to read all about it (and for a picture of the wonderful XXL cab! Meanwhile, what you see above is a computer simulation of a cab showing areas that can be 'thickness-minimised' for reduced weigh whilst keeping the performance of other characteristics, such as crash safety, driver environment and durability, unchanged.
Well says BLB, (sounding like Michael Rodd from Tomorrow's World): "Up until now, lightweight technology has mainly been used in Volvo Aero's aircraft engine components, but engineers at AB Volvo's research company, Volvo Technology, foresee favourable opportunities in using similar technology to reduce the weight of the cab and chassis in heavy trucks by at least 20% within ten years."
"We are creating the super-light vehicle in a computer environment that simulates how hundreds of thousands of small design alterations can reduce the vehicle's total weight without affecting other key characteristics in the vehicle, such as crashworthiness or the ability to carry loads," Carl Fredrik Hartung, project manager at Volvo Technology tells BLB." A lighter vehicle, regardless of whether it is a truck or a bus, can be powered by a smaller engine. If the lighter vehicle is equipped with an engine powered by renewable fuel, or hybrid solutions in which the diesel engine is jointly powered with an electric motor, then fuel consumption and thus carbon emissions can be further reduced."
And just imagine a lightweight version of the wonderful XXL Globetrotter cab... Now that would be interesting. "One of the challenges is that a super-light vehicle needs to be manufactured partly with more expensive materials of higher strength, which means that the vehicle must be produced in volumes that are sufficiently large for the cost to be kept down," adds Fredrik. And that sounds like the only downside to me... And naturally the other trick is being able to lose weight without compromising strength and durability. Not that easy either. Still, he reckons: "It's important to conduct thorough computer simulations and standardise the manufacturing process so that it will be profitable to manufacture lighter vehicles for commercial use. We have come a long way, but a great deal of work remains before the first super-light vehicles hit the road," he says. In other words, we've got to 'weight' a bit longer before Volvo's truck cabs shed a few pounds! Weight/wait... Do you geddit? (Oh please yourselves).
Lightweight trucks are serving great to the owners. You can find their services great.
digger derricks