Pneumatically shifted air suspension loading on 6×2 trucks

Daimler Trucks finds further fuel-economy improvement via a novel suspension control concept.

Trucks with a 6×2 axle configuration are lighter in weight compared to their 6×4 counterparts and can achieve greater fuel efficiency (FE) due to reductions in frictional losses obtained by having only a single differential and the lack of an interconnecting driveshaft. The additional FE benefits range from 1.9 to 3.5%. Researchers at Daimler Trucks North America examined whether even greater FE benefits could be obtained by using the air spring suspension to shift load to a non-driven rear axle.

The researchers found that potential benefits in FE existed when transferring load from the drive axle to the non-driving axle if specific drive axle tires along with trailer tires on the non-driving axle were used. To fully understand and characterize the possible benefits, a study was conducted that used both theoretical calculations and data obtained from full vehicle track tests.