Evaluation of the Effect of Ambient Conditions on the Fuel Consumption of Commercial Vehicles
2022-01-0642
03/29/2022
- Event
- Content
- The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions, and particular of ambient temperature, on fuel efficiency. Data from various and extensive operational testing were analyzed, such as tests conducted with four groups of medium and heavy-duty vehicles, involved in regional transport, local transport, pick-up and delivery, and urban transport (school bus). The tests were conducted over 5 months of warm season followed by four months of cold season. Other operational testing was conducted over one year in two different geographic and climatic regions in Canada. Data from extensive track testing conducted based on the SAE J 1321 Fuel Consumption Test Procedure-Type II, with various vehicles in different test condition, from spring to winter, was also analyzed. In this type of tests, a control vehicle is used for the base trial, as well as the final trial. As there is no change on the control vehicle, only the environmental conditions impact the fuel consumption of the control vehicle, and the data can be used to evaluate the impact on fuel efficiency. Air density varies with temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure, and changes in air density affect aerodynamic resistance. Fuel consumption increased with increasing air density, and fuel efficiency increased with increasing ambient temperature. As temperature gets colder during winter, additional factors come into play to further reduce fuel economy like wind, rain and snow. As well, particularly for regional or urban transport, slowdowns due to traffic are more common in the winter which will negatively affect fuel consumption.
- Citation
- Surcel, M., "Evaluation of the Effect of Ambient Conditions on the Fuel Consumption of Commercial Vehicles," SAE Technical Paper 2022-01-0642, 2022, .