Measurement and Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Air Dryer Efficiency

The measurement of pressure dew point is a well-known method of describing air quality, however this value seldom assists commercial vehicle OEM’s and operators in establishing specific air drying requirements for their vehicles.

This paper describes the method and examines the results of using the dryer capacity method specified in SAE document J2384, section 5.2, for determining air dryer performance, and compares the results of various air-drying techniques and the impact on vehicle system design to give the most efficient solution. The paper further goes on to discuss how the drying capacity can also be influenced by the design of the air dryer to meet a wide range of vehicle applications both in Europe and North America. Since J2384 excludes continuous flow air dryers from the scope of the document, they will likewise be excluded from discussion here.