Bullet Trucks: Semis Of The Future

Semi trucks are used everyday across the world to ship products from point A to point B. Thousands upon thousands of miles are racked up every year by semi truck operators. Fuel represents a large expense for all semi truck operators and any improvement in fuel economy can represent thousands of dollars in savings year round.

Most semi trucks in the United States achieve 5.5-6.5 miles per gallon which isn’t too bad taking into account the vehicle’s thirty-six tons gross vehicle weight. But in a society where fuel economy and emissions are beaming to the forefront of our everyday decision making, semi truck fuel economy needs to improve.

Last year, Peterbilt and Cummins’ “SuperTruck” achieved 9.9 miles per gallon which is an almost 40-50 percent improvement over the average semi truck. Over 120,000 miles that represents almost $25,000 in savings.

Another company named Airflow has built a semi truck named the “BulletTruck” which has achieved 13.4 miles per gallon which is almost 200% better than the average semi truck and almost comparable to normal midsize trucks. The BulletTruck prototype features aerodynamic upgrades like a more streamlined nose, smoother sides and tapered end section to reduce drag.

BulletTruck has also hybridized the air conditioning compressor and power steering pump to reduce parasitic losses to the engine, reducing load and fuel consumption.

50 percent of the fuel used by semi trucks is used to push air out of the way, by improving the aerodynamics of semi trucks, companies and drivers could see huge savings. According to AirFlow, BulletTrucks can save up to 7.5 billion gallons of fuel and reduce up to 21 million tons of exhaust emissions each year.

By: Matthew Sitachitt

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