Fuel is playing an increasingly vital role in the transport industry, as it forms a majorpart of the costs involved in operating a truck.

“It is becoming all the more important for customers to carefully consider the fuel consumption statistics of a vehicle before purchasing a truck,” according to Rory Schulz, UD Trucks Southern Africa’s general manager of corporate planning and marketing. “In addition, one also needs to look at aspects like driver training in order to ensure the most efficient operation of a vehicle, careful route planning and optimal load maximisation.”

If one makes a case study of some typical rigid vehicle applications with typical annual mileage, operating at an all-up mass of 7, 15 and 26 t respectively, the fuel cost will constitute between 25 and 27% of a fleet owner’s annual operating costs.In a typical trucktractor and interlink application, the fuel constitute around 50 to 56% of the operating cost.

Schulz points out that a number of factors come into play when a fleet owner needs to calculate the possible fuel consumption of a truck.

“Environmental factors, such as temperature and wind, as well as road surface type and operating conditions, always warrant strong consideration when factoring fuel consumption figures,” he says. “The truck’s body type and overall frontal area, the specific tuning of the engine and driveline components, tyre choice, tyre pressure and wheel alignment, as well as the load or all-up operating mass of the vehicle should be on the list of aspects that need constant monitoring and attention.”

Over the years, UD Trucks has continually invested in researching the best fuel consumption practices and applications for its local product range. The company therefore believes in only introducing trucks that employ appropriate technology for the demanding road and operating conditions of the African continent.

“The quality and hygiene of fuel available in many places in the Southern African region, often leaves a lot to be desired,” adds Schulz. “Furthermore, it is imperative that one uses the appropriate fuel for the specific design of the fuel system of any particular vehicle; in other words ultra-low sulphur diesel or 10 ppm for Euro 4 and upwards. Driver training also plays an increasingly important role, as the correct driving techniques can save operators a lot of money on the long run.”

Over the years technology has made many advances to increase fuel efficiency. Initially, mechanical advances came by the way of improvement in volumetric efficiency and combustion chamber design and shapes. Fuel measurement and metering as well as tuning, have also improved the efficiency of trucks through the years. These also include advancements in fuel technology.

“Materials and manufacturing processesare enhanced to allow for greater compression ratios and tolerances in order to increase injection pressures. The advent of forward induction systems such as turbocharging also contribute greatly to the advancement in fuel efficiency, while engine cooling improves dramatically as the industry evolve and become more sophisticated,” explains Schulz.

However,the most significant improvement came in the form of electronic control units, which has allowed manufacturers to control the exact amount of fuel that is injected at a specific pressure with precisiontiming. This vital development resultsin overall combustion efficiency, and also helps operators achieve lower emissions, which ultimately leads to improved fuel economy.

Schulz reiterates that there are now engines available that are especially fuel efficient at a particular rev range and engine load.

To enable operators to keep the vehicle operating in this ideal range, multispeed transmissions have been introduced and further developments with electronics allowthe vehicle to function in an optimum fashion with automated manual transmissions and electronic vehicle management systems.

“With these systems of course comes much driver orientation and ongoing training to improve their skills to maximise these benefits.Into the future, emission levels will call for further developments, but alternative fuels to current fossil fuels, such as diesel, are most likely going to be the way to go,” concludes Schulz.