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LONGER IS ALWAYS BETTER HOW ABOUT AN 18m ARTIC?
Page 49
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The aerodynamic effectiveness of the tractor/trailer combination has been ratified using computational fluld dynamics and there are now plans to conduct further wind-tunnel tests with a 1:4 scale model. Rut before everyone gets too excited, Schaller asserts: "We have to talk to the European legislators to change [the current artic] dimensions. Otherwise, we're losing capacity and that doesn't make sense." Thus, the message is that it's all very well saving diesel but not at the expense of load volume or payload. You have to keep the working volumes or payload stable and improve fuel efficiency," confirms Schaller, which means having artics longer than the current 16.5m EU length limit.
"When you're talking about truck aerodynamics, longer is always better but we have to be realistic," he says. So how much longer are we talking about? The figure being bandied about, not least by MAN boss Hakan Samuellson at the recent Truck & Bus World Forum, is 18m.
Either way, artics will certainly have to be longer if manufacturers are to create deeper and smoother front profiles on a tractor and extended 'aerotails' on the trailer.