At a joint Dana-Eaton press conference in Kalamazoo, MI, both partners in the Roadranger marketing organization announced an array of new product and service developments, with the biggest news being that Eaton Corp. is working on a new technology that could enable it to enter the diesel exhaust aftertreatment business with a product that would meet 2010 EPA emissions regs without putting urea tanks onboard trucks.
Eaton also said it is:
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Developing a hybrid electric power system for Class 8 trucks aimed at improving both on-road fuel efficiency and reducing idling.
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Introducing Fleet Resource Manager, a subscription-based fleet management optimization tool developed in concert with @Road Inc.
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Adding the UltraShift LEP (Linehaul Efficient Performance) model to its automated transmission lineup, as well as two product extensions of its UltraShift LST (Linehaul Standard) model — the UltraShift LST Overdrive Multi-Torque and the UltraShift LST Direct Drive Multi-Torque.
Dana announced that it is:
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Developing a new technology based around a patented insert that directs lubrication to areas in the axle where it is needed most, while controlling flow around the ring gear. The controlled flow minimizes churning energy losses while maintaining proper component lubrication, said the company, reducing the amount of lubrication needed at factory and service fill points.
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Releasing three new ratios for its Spicer drive-axle lineup. The Torsionally Tuned-40 (DST40) tandem-drive axle is now available with new 2.64:1 and 2.93:1 ratios, and the S170 single-drive axle now offers a 2.53:1 axle ratio. These ratios will be particularly effective in improving fuel efficiency for fleets running lower engine rpms at cruising speed with direct transmissions and low-profile tires, said the company.
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Introducing a new Spicer LMS wide-based hub system for drive and trailer axles, designed for customers that require a long-life, low-maintenance wheel end that maintains load ratings with wide-based tire applications.
Vishal Singh, marketing & business development manager for new technologies at Eaton's Truck business unit, announced that Eaton's aftertreatment system will be ready to meet the most stringent diesel emissions requirements in the world — the 2010 U.S. EPA emissions requirements — with a “unique combination of fuel reformer catalyst with doser, selective catalytic reduction catalyst (SCR) and lean NOx trap (LNT) developed over the last few years at the Eaton Innovation Center in Southfield, MI.
“This is not a me-too technology”, said Singh. “We have proposed a novel aftertreatment system that combines a fuel dosing unit, fuel reformer catalyst, an LNT catalyst, and an SCR catalyst in series to scrub NOx from the system.”
“While most SCR systems being proposed today use urea as a means of carrying the ammonia needed to catalyze the NOx,” he continued, “Eaton's system generates its own on-board ammonia. The result is a cost-effective system that meets EPA requirements and eliminates the need for urea distribution and infrastructure or on-board urea tanks.
“Essentially, Eaton has taken two NOx-reducing technologies, packaged them in a system that allows them to work together, and taken advantage of a naturally occurring chemical reaction to eliminate a major cost and logistics hurdle that exists for urea-based systems,” said Singh.
He added that “much work remains to be done” in the next three-and-a-half years to bring this technology to market in time to meet the '10 regs. Singh also said Eaton is “not investing this high level of resources into a brand-new technology unless we think we…have a powerful value proposition for our customer.”
www.dana.com and www.eaton.com
