Auxiliary power unit for truck idling reduction

Abstract

Idling the engine of heavy‐duty truck is the only way a driver can control the temperature in the cab/sleeper and have power for auxiliary devices when the truck is parked. It is an inefficient and noisy process that wastes thousands of litres of fuel per year while standing stationary in a parking lot. Almost all heavy‐duty trucks idle about 20–40% of the time when the engine is running, depending on season, geographic location and trucking operation. This extensive engine idling has many disadvantages, including pollutant emissions, noise pollution, unnecessary fuel and maintenance costs, and driver discomfort. This paper discusses the problems related to truck idling and proposes an auxiliary power generation unit that can significantly reduce the fuel consumption, cut the costs, enhance engine life and reduce pollution. A control methodology is presented to regulate the output voltage of the auxiliary power unit under variable load conditions.

Keywords:

• Heavy‐duty diesel truck
• Idling
• Pollution
• Auxiliary power unit

Acknowledgement

The work reported in this paper was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.