Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. on Wednesday, March 4, introduced the newest addition to its alternative powertrain chassis development program — a pilot hydraulic-hybrid walk-in van chassis. The company says its latest alternative-fuel chassis — launched at the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) Work Truck Show — boasts improved fuel economy and less brake wear due to regenerative braking, and is designed and engineered in partnership with Parker Hannifin Corp. to address environmental and cost-savings concerns.
FCCC also announced the availability of new powertrain features at the NTEA show.
Hydraulic-hybrid chassis
“The hydraulic-hybrid chassis not only offers a reduction in operating costs, it also decreases exhaust emissions, providing a substantial environmental benefit,” says Jonathan Randall, director of sales and marketing for FCCC. “As the first chassis manufacturer to launch hybrids into the walk-in van market, we are very proud to continue that tradition by introducing our hydraulic hybrid as another option for customers.”
According to the company, predictions based on preliminary testing have shown that the hydraulic hybrid improves fuel economy between 50 to 70 percent over traditional diesel-powered vehicles with automatic transmissions in stop-and-go applications. FCCC says the hydraulic hybrid improves fuel economy in three significant ways: recovered braking energy; improved engine efficiency; and its engine-off feature.
Built on the FCCC MT-55 chassis, the hydraulic-hybrid system stores energy during the braking process in an accumulator; the energy stored in the accumulator then is used to accelerate the vehicle on the next launch. Upon reacceleration, the vehicle utilizes the energy stored in the accumulator, and once depleted, the engine is restarted.
“The hydraulic hybrid is able to recover and reuse about 70 percent of the energy that otherwise would have been wasted during the braking process,” says Rich Kimpel, engineering manager for the Parker hydraulic group technology and commercialization support team. “On the other hand, typical electric hybrids can only recapture about 25 percent of the brake energy.”
