ORLANDO, Fla. -- SmartTruck has rolled out more data that shows its undercarriage trailer aerodynamics system does, in fact, save fuel.
The announcement comes on the heels of unfavourable testing by Performance Innovation Transport, which indicated undercarriage skirts from a variety of manufacturers saved between 0-2.2%, well short of SmartTruck's claims of 7%.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) testing by CD-adapco found that SmartTruck's UT6 trailer system reduced drag by more than 10%, and fuel consumption by about 7%.
"The science, technology and savings that go into our suite of aerodynamic solutions are significant, so we're not surprised to see these results," said Mike Henderson, chief scientist for SmartTruck. "Where the science hits the highway though is the spot where the trucking industry is able to save money. These results are right in line with not only SmartTruck's internal testing using multiple methods, but also with what our customers are reporting out on the road—even in comparison to other aerodynamic products."
SmartTruck says it has had its product tested extensively using various methods, including the SAE J1321 test protocol.
"We won't release a commercial product into the market until we have consistent performance numbers from our multi-legged testing approach. Relying on a single test isn't good enough," said Henderson. "This way when our customers get the product, we have full confidence in the fuel performance they will see."
Customers, added Henderson, also have validated its claims in real-world driving conditions.
"We are getting 3% better fuel performance with SmartTruck's UnderTray System than with the sideskirts we were using," said Gwen LuDuke, director of maintenance, Megatrux Transportation.
