Browse Topic: Commercial vehicles
The persistent rate of accidents and fatalities involving legacy tactical military vehicles underscores a critical need for Enhanced Situational Awareness (ESA) technologies. However, the prohibitive cost and lengthy development cycles associated with full MIL-STD ruggedization often prevent these safety systems from reaching the in-service non-combat vehicles with limited driver visibility. This paper suggests a strategic shift in procurement policy: The adoption of relaxed ruggedization standards for vehicles operating in non-combat, administrative, and training roles. By deriving requirements from high-stress commercial sectors— such as heavy mining, steel production, and NASCAR racing—the military can utilize electronics designed for "extreme industrial" rather than "battlefield" environments. The principal objectives of this relaxation is cost reduction, lowering the barrier to entry and increasing the likelihood of ESA deployment across the legacy fleet. Furthermore, this approach aligns with Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles by enabling the integration of non-proprietary commercial devices. Utilizing these accessible technologies on legacy platforms creates a real-world testbed to evaluate technological advances rapidly. These insights can then inform and accelerate the development of future MIL-STD systems for combat vehicles, effectively shortening the traditional development life cycle while prioritizing the immediate enhanced protection of service member lives.
The automotive industry's transition towards electrification, particularly in the passenger car (PC) and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments, has intensified the focus on vehicle lightweighting to maximize battery range and efficiency. Conventional brake systems in electric vehicles (EVs) are subject to minimal mechanical wear due to regenerative braking, making corrosion the primary cause of component failure and replacement. This paper details the development and production of an innovative lightweight brake, which addresses these challenges. The "Cast-In" brake disc combines a traditional gray cast iron friction ring with a pre-finished, deep-drawn steel hat through a specialized composite casting process. This design achieves a significant reduction in unsprung mass—1.6 kg per disc in a 390mm x 36mm example—directly contributing to improved vehicle dynamics and energy efficiency. Key manufacturing challenges, including ensuring a robust material bond, preventing casting defects, and sealing the steel hat during casting, have been overcome through advanced process controls, simulation, and a patented sealing system. Furthermore, a novel, enhanced corrosion protection system has been developed and validated to meet the required service life of over 10 years, addressing the specific demands of e-mobility. With production scheduled to begin in April 2026, this technology is a milestone for modern braking solutions in the era of electrification.
Commercial vehicle fleets frequently operate with tractors that connect to different trailers and dollies, resulting in combinations with varying brake pad wear across wheel ends. Traditional brake-force distribution strategies do not consider these pad-life differences, which can lead to uneven brake utilization, irregular maintenance intervals, and increased total cost of ownership (TCO) in mixed-trailer operations [7, 9]. While modern electronically controlled braking systems (EBS) already incorporate pad wear based braking for the tractor itself [5], these capabilities do not extend across the entire vehicle combination because trailer-side communication is typically limited to standardized CAN protocols such as ISO 11992 and J1939 [1, 2, 3]. As braking systems become more software defined and rely heavily on distributed electronic communication, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of trailer originated brake information becomes essential for both functional safety and cybersecurity [6]. In the proposed architecture, trailers and dollies communicate brake related data to the tractor over the ISO 11992 Tractor-Trailer CAN (TT-CAN) network [1, 2], allowing the tractor Brake Control ECU to securely validate the source of the information and register each towed unit for health aware braking. Once authenticated pad life data is available, the tractor constructs a combination level brake health map covering every wheel end in the configuration. During normal braking, a supervisory allocator computes wheel end specific brake pressure targets that bias braking toward wheel ends with greater remaining pad life while ensuring full compliance with stopping distance regulations and stability requirements [4, 7]. By integrating authenticated pad wear information with tractor hosted supervisory control, the system improves braking consistency across mixed combinations, harmonizes pad utilization, enhances maintenance predictability, and reduces TCO while meeting the safety and cybersecurity expectations of modern commercial vehicle fleets.
KPIT experts address challenges of maintaining legacy architectures while introducing centralized compute, OTA, new energy platforms and AI layers - driving integration complexity and validation effort. KPIT Technologies is providing the executive leadership for this year's SAE COMVEC, a forum for global leaders in trucking, construction equipment, agricultural machinery and defense vehicles to address the technologies, regulations and innovations impacting transportation today and in the coming years. The theme for COMVEC 2026 (www.sae.org/events/comvec), which takes place in Schaumburg, Illinois, from September 29 to October 1, is “Resolving Current Challenges While Reimagining the Future.” “For commercial and off-highway, this theme captures a structural contradiction the industry lives with every day: transform the entire product architecture while continuing to deliver near-zero downtime, tight margins and proven reliability,” Satish Kumar, senior VP at KPIT, said in a pre-event interview with Truck & Off-Highway Engineering.
It's near that time of year again when early-career and well-established engineers alike gather in Schaumburg, Illinois, for the annual SAE COMVEC conference (www.sae.org/events/comvec). From September 29 to October 1, attendees will listen to experts on a range of topics - from “Right Sizing Hybrid Powertrains” to “AI for Efficient Engineering Development” - walk the exhibit floor to witness the latest technologies and of course converse with one another over coffee or other beverages. KPIT Technologies is providing the executive leadership for this year's COMVEC and has a significant presence on the agenda, including the opening keynote by Omkar Panse, KPIT's chief technology officer (CTO). Panse and Satish Kumar, senior VP at KPIT, offered their insights on the engineering challenges and opportunities that next-generation commercial vehicles present in this issue's feature story on page 16.
Wirtgen Group hosted select media at its training and technology center near Nashville to demonstrate the full road-building workflow - from milling and paving to compaction - and how connected machines, automation and real-time data are helping crews to work more efficiently. As part of John Deere's construction equipment portfolio, Wirtgen Group's specialized machinery combines with Deere's TechStack and digital fleet management technology to improve productivity, efficiency, safety and pavement quality. Wirtgen (rehabilitation), Vögele (paving) and Hamm (compaction) machines were in action for the roadbuilding demo. Other Group brands not demoed include Kleeman for crushers and screening plants for processing, and Benninghoven, which is not part of the portfolio in the U.S., for mixing and recycling plants.
In the conversation surrounding electrification, the vehicle itself typically dominates the headlines. But those operating on remote jobsites in the mining, construction and agriculture sectors know the machine is only half the equation. These industries prioritize reliability and uptime and require machines that can handle grueling shifts in demanding environments without compromise. Power providers in these heavy-duty, off-highway markets must move beyond the battery itself to explore a holistic approach to infrastructure when it comes to powering remote jobsites. The first step to success is understanding the fundamental differences between off-highway duty cycles and on-highway applications. While on-highway applications like long-hauling trucks benefit from steady-state operation and passive airflow for cooling, off-highway machines often operate at high torque for extended periods, with little to no forward movement. In these scenarios, there is no passive cooling to rely on or regular refueling stations at the next exit. Success, therefore, is defined by the engineering required to ensure that electric machines deliver the same productivity as diesel, even when operated at their limits in the most rugged, remote conditions.
Industrial powertrain suppliers are being asked to provide more solutions for a greater array of clients than ever before. Thanks to shifting regulations, new technological developments and customer demand for greater efficiency and power at lower cost, companies like FPT Industrial have a herculean task to engineer the next generation of ICE and electrified powertrains. Truck & Off-Highway Engineering interviewed Daniele Pozzo, head of marketing and product portfolio for FPT Industrial at CONEXPO 2026. Pozzo discussed FPT's current powertrain development strategy, what trends the company is seeing in the markets of both on- and off-highway clients and what solutions customers are demanding for the various industries FPT serves.
In order to solve the problem of poor terrain adaptability of traditional cranes in the construction of transmission lines in mountainous areas, and to ensure the safe operation of light modular spider cranes in complex terrain, this study is modelled on spider cranes with a rated lifting capacity of 3 tons. According to the Crane Design Specification and the Crane Design Manual, the static finite element analysis of the core structure was carried out using UG and ANSYS Workbench software. Following the principle of balancing load-bearing accuracy and calculation efficiency, the upper and lower structures of the spider crane are simplified in layers. Subsequently, the reaction force, displacement and stress characteristics of the core structure were analysed under the condition of a rated load of 3 tons and the minimum working radius. The research results show that the strength and rigidity of the core structure of the spider crane meet the standard requirements to ensure that it can operate safely in mountainous environments.
This study details the development and experimental validation of a high-fidelity one-dimensional (1D) simulation model for a two-speed transmission designed for off-road vehicles, such as tractors and backhoe loaders used in agricultural and civil engineering applications. The model, implemented in the AMESim platform from Siemens, integrates physics-based loss sub-models for all major components, including gears, bearings, seals, and fluid drag (churning) losses. After development, the model was rigorously validated against test bench data, with efficiency measurements taken across various speed, torque, and oil level combinations, demonstrating a strong correlation with experimental results. A detailed analysis enabled the quantification of the contribution of each loss mechanism, identifying the countershaft gears and input shaft bearings as the primary contributors. Furthermore, a Machine Learning (ML)–based calibration framework, employing Bayesian Optimization, was implemented to reduce discrepancies between simulation and experiment and to generate a synthetic dataset for the creation of fast-executing surrogate models. The study concludes that the proposed methodology constitutes an effective tool for efficiency analysis and optimization during early design stages, establishing a foundation for future integration with ML techniques and the development of digital twins.
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