On March 17, PIT Group of FPInnovations and the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) announced they will be conducting joint research projects on fuel-savings and emerging braking technologies.

The two groups announced in September 2018 they had formed a strategic partnership to advance innovation in trucking through field testing and truck engineering. The first two projects they will collaborate on will be developing a fuel-saving calculator and exploring electromagnetic braking systems.

PIT Group will review and validate existing test data that was used to develop TMC’s interactive Drive Cycle Calculator. This calculator is an interactive mathematical tool that’s used by equipment operators to evaluate the potential fuel and economic savings of an aerodynamic device based on test data. PIT Group will also conduct supplementary testing to obtain results to fill any gaps that exist in the test database used for this tool.

The partners also flagged a multi-year study of electromagnetic braking systems as a priority for its collaborative research. The fresh analysis will entail a literature and market review, as well as testing and operational evaluation of electromagnetic brakes. The focus will be on the braking performance, maintenance, and inspection of conventional brakes compared to electromagnetic brakes.

For details on the press release, please click here.