Perfect Partners: Technology and the Transport Industry

Technology has an amazing ability to create and transform industries. Take the transportation industry, for example. Its major costs are tied up in fuel and anything that directly impacts fuel consumption can and will affect profits. Two major sources of fuel and energy waste in trucking systems, for example, are braking and inefficient hydraulics. But, two Australian companies believe that they can change all of that and turn the trucking industry around, providing profit opportunities without affecting core systems or processes.
Challenging Logistics
One of the major challenges in the transportation industry is the workforce. There was a time when trucking was a respectable profession. The technology during the time of trucking and transportation’s height wasn’t what it is today.
Today, people are moving toward more high-tech industries – mostly computer and related industries. There’s a lack of interest in trucking, and other low-tech industries, among young people. This, combined with the increased demand in shipping, is pushing companies to find ways to make transportation more efficient.
Because, while young people are not interested in driving trucks, they are interested in buying goods from websites, like Amazon, and having their stuff shipped to their door. This creates a gap which requires a larger pool of workers in the trucking and transport industries to fulfil the demand.
But, that gap in workers isn’t being filled. So, manufacturers are turning to find a hydraulics specialist that can help them improve fuel (and other) efficiencies so that more cargo can be carried at a lower cost.
New Technologies To Help The Industry
One such technology that’s being employed by some transportation companies is the regenerative drive system. This system is comprised of an advanced regenerative braking system and advanced hydraulics. This system connects a hydraulic pump to the driveline, accumulators, reservoir, sensors, and hydraulic control manifold. There’s a software controller that manages the whole system.
When the driver brakes, braking energy is stored using a hydraulic pump, which moves hydraulic oil and compresses nitrogen gas in the accumulator. The compressed gas helps to slow the vehicle, reducing the need to rely on the braking system.
Since the system is initiated by the driver releasing the accelerator, it’s inherently efficient. But, those efficiencies also translate over to the acceleration cycle too. When the accelerator is pressed, the pressurised nitrogen moves through the system and through a pump which acts like a motor to provide additional power to the drive-train. The result? An increase in fuel economy of between 20 and 30 percent in stop-and-go traffic.
Another technology used is the fuel saving vane pump. This technology relies on a hydraulic pump that reduces the amount of oil that is pumped through hydraulic systems, like power steering systems. Power steering makes turning large vehicles easier, and it’s a requirement on any heavy machine. Yet, the power is only needed at low speeds for negotiating tight turns.
At highway speeds, the oil being pumped through the system is essentially wasted, because there isn’t a need for a higher flow rate through the power steering system. Yet, excess pump flow is normally automatically diverted over the system control valve, wasting energy. The fuel saving nave pump captures the vanes under certain conditions, like highway driving conditions, and prevents excess oil from being displaced, thus saving energy, and increasing fuel economy.
The five-year savings is expected to be roughly $18,750, based on a $1.50 per litre fuel cost.
The Future Of Transport
The future of transportation lies in advancing these types of technologies as well as encouraging younger drivers to enter the workforce. While there’s no guarantee that younger workers will replace older ones, technology advancements can eventually lead to reduced need for an expanded labour force.
There may come a day when automated trucking systems replace the need for human drivers. But, until that day comes, the industry will rely on improved efficiencies, such as these, to make transportation more cost-effective and thus, profitable.