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Volvo enters the gas turbine race

20th April 1973, Page 28
20th April 1973
Page 28
Page 28, 20th April 1973 — Volvo enters the gas turbine race
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

by Trevor Longcroft

• Volvo has entered the turbineengined truck race, and expects to produce a prototype engine by 1980.

Mr Lars Malmros, head of the Volvo truck division, revealed at an engine symposium at Gothenburg last week that already £2m had been spent on the project.

The turbine engine will be rated 6etween 500 bhp and 600 bhp and will be fitted to trucks in the Volvo range — but whether Volvo or another manufacturer will make it has yet to be decided.

While this will mark the entrance of Volvo into the gas turbine field, the company maintains that its present engine series still has a great deal of design potential to meet demands for increasing

power output over the next 10 years. Development of the gas turbine is regarded initially as an "insurance policy".

Internee! experiment When I visited the company's test laboratories — surely the most up to date and automated in Europe — I was shown an experimental intercooled TD120 engine producing 500 bhp on a test bed. Interco°ling the smaller TD70 unit for marine applications has increased output from 192 bhp to 250 blip.

Poor cold starting and low load characteristics caused by a reduction in compression ratio for intercooling has been solved by fitting an induction manifold heater to heat the induction air, while a valve in the exhaust manifold restricts the flow of exhaust gases at low loads to produce a load effect by increasing back pressure.

Engines on test beds featured water to air intercooling, but Mr Berta Haggh, manager of Volvo truck engine division, said that vehicle applications would have air to air intercoolers which are lighter and equally efficient as the water to air.

Interco°ling the induction air from around 140deg to 60deg C helps to reduce combustion temperatures, and combined with a lowering of compression ratio to limit peak cylinder pressures, increased head gasket and valve life has been experienced compared to naturally aspirated engines.

Mr T. Karlsson, manager of the truck division, said that an engine with a 50 per cent torque back-up and constant

horsepower between peak torque and rated speed does not produce good transport economy because the back-up could be achieved only by reducing torque at rated speed, but not by increasing peak torque because of cylinder pressure limitations. Volvo had concluded that the natural 15-20 per cent back-up of a diesel engine combined with an easy to use gearbox, with balanced ratio spacings, would provide the best transport economy now and in the foreseeable future.

Bernet link Looking to the future market for trucks in Europe, Mr Mahnros spoke of a possible link with Berliet. He agreed that while Volvo has adequate engine production facilities, the chassis assembly of Berliet would be very useful.

During 1973 Volvo expects to make 19,000 trucks; extra production will be needed if the company is to obtain its share of the European truck market which, it expects, will amount to around 180,000 vehicles a year in 1980.


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