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=L a i Cr by Bill Godwin

16th January 1982
Page 41
Page 41, 16th January 1982 — =L a i Cr by Bill Godwin
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

iernnans press on . . but quietly

EHICLES with "environmental vise reduction" pack options !came commercially available 11 year when, following a -ge-scale evaluation °gramme with the German ,st office, Magirus introduced 3 130M 8 medium-weight )del to the private sector. Daimler-Benz R. & D. work in s sphere which effectively had eady been completed in midBO was subsequently

tended by 18 months to ther refine the chosen :hnology and to present a ige of vehicles ready for dition to the standard irketing programme.

rhe public presentation of Ise units at the end of last year s introduced by Dr Kemper, of ! German Department of the iironment, who underlined magnitude of the traffic se problem by announcing t the financial contribution of I 1.7m, made by the State to Daimler-Benz development iject would only have paid for e more than a mile (1.7 km to be exact!) of motorway antinoise screens.

The new noise reduction project was primarily concerned with the application of proven methods of power unit encapsulation (as successfully practised on city buses since 1973) to the more complex and arduous operating environment of commercial vehicles.

Models which were demonstrated at the Hockenheim track included 307 D, 407 D, 409, 508 D and 613 D vans, a 1619-based municipal vehicle, a 1633 haulage truck and an 0.303 coach. As soon as the logistics of rationalising the production of such 'hush options' have been sorted out, Mercedes-Benz proposes to commercialise most of the new programme with the exception of the 307 D, which is a prototype, and the 1633 truck.

The measures taken to achieve impressive reductions of vehicle noise include specially-shaped grp panels to fit to the sides and underneath the power unit, redesign of the exhaust system and provision of thermo-viscous drives for cooling fans.

Modified front grilles have been provided for smaller vehicles to reduce engine and fan noise usually emerging there. Noise emission treatment has taken the "drive past" level of the 508 D van to around 78dB(A) and that of the 1619 KO refuse collector-powered by a newly developed turbocharged 141kW engine (OM 362 LA) — to 80dB(A).

Inevitably there is a small weight penalty to be paid in return for the environmental benefit and in the 508 D van this amounts to 60kg, or 2.4 per cent of payload.

European implementation in October 1983 of new noise emission regulations for psv setting a limit of 85dB(A) is being met by Mercedes-Benz coaches with the new "environmental" pack reducing the drive past value to 83dB(A). Here the method followed is that successfully used since 1973 in more than 6,000 Mercedes-Benz city buses. There has not been a single example of mechanical breakdown or equipment failure which could be attributed to the encapsulation of the engine.

More effective programming of signal-controlled routes, for instance, not only saves fuel but, in the context of the noise debate, helps to reduce the rise of the decibels inevitable when re-starting at traffic lights.

Tags

Organisations: German Department
People: Bill Godwin, Kemper
Locations: Hockenheim

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