Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2021 - 4

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

- Kevin Chronicle, Bosch

The Bosch Servotwin
electrohydraulic steering
system for heavy
commercial vehicles
offers speed-dependent
steering support and
consumes less fuel than
purely hydraulic steering.

Payback for ADAS

Bosch researchers used the KABCO injury scale, developed by
the National Safety Council to provide a specific process to classify the costs of crashes, to translate the FoE into a dollar
amount. " Police use this when they're recording crashes. They
rate each one into a different category, " Chronicle explained.
" For example, fatalities roughly average $12 million per incident. "
The calculation is based on a driving distance of 100,000
miles per year - the Federal Highway Administration's estimate for long-distance heavy trucks. The research shows lateral actuator systems can help reduce accident-related costs
by nearly four cents per mile ($0.037) and up to $3,700 annually per heavy truck.
The research also shows that even at an assumed 50% efficiency of the FoE, the savings from a lateral actuator system
could total more than $9,000 per truck in five years. " We can
say with high confidence that the payback period is less than
two years when investing in a lateral actuator system, "
Chronicle said.
" The full value when injuries or fatalities from vehicular accidents are avoided is ultimately incalculable, " O'Keefe said.
" Safety technologies like LCA and LKS help to reduce accidents, which is the ultimate goal across the commercial vehicle industry. "
Ryan Gehm

4 April 2021

PROPULSION

Achates advances the OP engine
on three fronts
Global demand for cleaner, more power-dense internal combustion engines (ICE) is expected to continue into the middle
of this century, for a variety of vehicle applications and markets. San Diego-based Achates Power has been developing
its solution - an advanced 2-stroke, opposed-piston, multifuel, compression-ignition engine - since 2004, the year
computer engineer Larry Fromm joined the start-up to lead
business development. Truck & Off-Highway Engineering recently caught up with him to learn about Achates' progress in
moving its innovative OP power unit toward series production
in 2024. Highlights of our interview are below.
Achates is busy on multiple fronts, correct?
Yes. We're focused on three major projects, with OP engines
ranging from 270 hp (200 kW), aimed at pickup trucks, to over
1,000 hp (746 kW) for military vehicle applications. Currently
our big project, the Advanced Combat Engine (ACE), is with
the U.S. Army and Cummins Engine. We've been working on it
for several years and now have engines under test at Cummins,
and with the Army's Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) in
Warren, Michigan, as well as here at Achates. This engine is
proof of the capability of Achates' technology.
A 1,000-hp variant of the ACE is installed in a Bradley
Fighting Vehicle and has undergone dyno testing. Driving
tests begin in 2021 and the engine in this power rating is
planned for series production in 2024. The Army is also planning 750-hp [559-kW] and 1,500-hp (1,120-kW) variants.
And we have a new contract to work on a family of smaller
engines for the Army's tactical vehicles and cargo trucks. The
Army is really focused on getting the engine into vehicles
because the Achates opposed-piston engine doubles the
power density compared with existing diesels. We cut the

Development of Achates' 10.6-L heavy-duty diesel, shown here in a
Peterbilt tractor, was funded by California's ARB.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

FROM TOP: BOSCH; ACHATES POWER

" We can say with high confidence
that the payback period is less than
two years when investing in a lateral
actuator system. "

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2021

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