Daf examines a turbo boost
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• Daf has confirmed that it is running a factory evaluation truck driven by a turbo-compound version of its 11.6-litre straight-six engine. But according to product planning director Hans Staals, Daf has yet to decide whether to apply turbocompound technology to a production vehicle.
The Dutch truck maker is still researching how to make its current 11.6-litre diesel more efficient: a variety of engineering solutions were revealed at the Brussels Show (CM 24-30 Jan).
But Staals says that the best way forward is to improve on existing technology rather than adding extra complications to the base engine.
He believes that higher injection pressures will inevitably be adopted to improve combustion, adding that the temperature of the intake air passing through the charge-cooler radiator can be reduced further to optimise combustion. He cites additional cooling, possibly remote from the engine, as one way of achieving this.
Such an approach would mean that truck and trailer manufacturers would have to work more closely on future artic designs, Staals concludes.