Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2023 - 20

BLUE ARC AMPS UP FOR
EV PRODUCTION
Bosch supplied its Servotwin steering system, while
Akebono was tapped for the van's brakes. The e-axle
is a Dana eS9000r unit with a peak power output of
240 kW and a maximum torque output of 9,000 Nm
(6,638 lb-ft).
The e-axle features a set of double reduction helical
Blue Arc worked with several
Tier 1 suppliers to develop the
chassis for its electric van.
gears, which eliminates the need for a ring and pinion.
This design reportedly improves overall driveline efficiency
by 3-4%. The axle also features an electronic
parking brake with an integrated mechanical linkage
for the Akebono calipers.
The batteries are supplied by Proterra. The frame
displayed for the media featured two packs, each with
82 kW of capacity. The packs feature cylindrical cells
from LG that are liquid-cooled. " Battery packs are a lot
like people - they like to be around 70 degrees
Fahrenheit (21°C), " said Eric Reynolds, senior director
channel sales for Proterra.
Reynolds also outlined the ballistic-grade casing
Proterra uses for its packs. " It's a very bad life to be a
Proterra pack, " he said. " We do everything we can
think of, from submerging to shooting them, to create
some sort of event in the pack. " The batteries are rated
for 4,400 cycles, which translates to at least a decade
of service life in this application, according to
Shyft. The van can be fitted with up to three packs.
The packs necessitated a wider frame than is normally
used for this type of van to accommodate battery
location. Jason Shiffler, business unit director at
Hendrickson, described how his company helped Shyft
develop the suspension and manage the ride-andThe
Blue Arc van features a
wider ladder-frame chassis
that will be available in Class 3
through 5 configurations.
optimize cost of ownership, energy usage and maintenance costs.
Adams confirmed to TOHE that Shyft already has received the first
preorder for Blue Arc vans. The Randy Marion Automotive Group
based in the Carolinas reportedly placed an order with Blue Arc for
2,000 units in fall 2022. Adams also confirmed that plans for production
of the vans will be finalized for a location " somewhere in the
Midwest " by the middle of 2023 and that Shyft has had interest from
other OEMs such as RV manufacturers.
" At the end of the day, we know what our end users want, what
their experience is, and do ride-and-drives with their drivers, " Adams
said. " We have demonstrated our agility to add capacity to meet customer
demands. "
Deep dive
The components used to build the Blue Arc van are sourced from Tier
1 suppliers such as Akebono, Bosch, Dana, Hendrickson and Proterra.
20 February 2023
handling balance of the Blue Arc van.
" Obviously, we're managing more unsprung mass
than we were in the past, " he said. " But on heavier
Class 8 vehicles, there's a lot of applications that have
large gearboxes or even a large parking brake, so this
is something we've managed with suspension technology
for a long time. "
Shiffler continued, " One thing that Shyft was very
particular on was ride and handling. This is why we
spec'd a large single-leaf spring suspension, " he explained.
" This configuration is not only lightweight,
but also provides a performance benefit. We developed
a variable-rate curve under load with a constant
ride frequency. Usually in these vans they have
a much different ride performance when they're
loaded versus unloaded. But we were able to maintain
a constant ride quality regardless of the load
state of this vehicle. "
The wider frame also enabled simplification of the
suspension components needed to meet Shyft's rideand-handling
targets. " There's always a tradeoff between
ride quality and roll stability, " Shiffler said. " The
way the rest of the industry manages that is usually
with anti-roll bars. But you'll notice there's no sway
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: BLUE ARC
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2023

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