THE INSIDE TRACK WITH ARC NEWSLETTER

ARC's Drivetrain Test Rig has moved to Indianapolis. We are finalizing the installation and are looking forward to restarting operations in March. Contact us to book your next test so that we can help you improve your driveline.

The drivetrain rig, developed by ARC is one of the most powerful for public use. With input horsepower of over 600hp and speeds of 9000rpm the dyno can simulate race conditions. The rig can assist with drivetrain break in, low friction part development and gearbox oil testing.

For more information visit the ARC website or read the brochure. To book time, call 317-291-8600 or email at sales@arcindy.com

ARC ADOPTS NEW MARKETING SLOGAN

ARC, the Best Kept Secret in Efficiency!

As part of our new marketing campaign ARC has adopted a new slogan, “ARC, the Best Kept Secret in Efficiency!” in-line with how the company has always operated. As a Advanced Engineering Solutions provider that offers independent testing and development to our clients. We have helped our customers achieve success in their industries. Our customers include top level race teams, OEM automotive and commercial truck manufacturers and government agencies. Sorry we can’t tell you who they are. ARC really is the best kept secret in efficiency! Contact us so that we can start helping you too. We promise not to tell anyone.

EFFECTS OF SCALE ON TESTING

Results in a scale wind tunnel are only as good as the models being tested. The more accurate the model, the better the correlation to full scale tunnel numbers. That is why ARC prides itself in the accuracy of our models and why we have been able to correlate to full scale tunnels within 1-2 drag counts.

It can be much more cost effective to develop a car at reduced scale. The lower cost and faster speed of manufacture at reduced scale means that our customers can be much more efficient during the styling and design phase of their programs.

Customers that use the ARC tunnel are very pleased with the results they get and how well it correlates to full sized tunnels. These customers include production OEMs, race car teams to commercial vehicle OEMs. In fact the EPA has approved the usage of our tunnel in their SmartWay verification program and for OEM data submittal for GHG regulations. This is a testament of the accuracy and cost effectiveness of ARC's scale wind tunnel.

For more information about the ARC wind tunnel visit the ARC website or read the brochure. To book time, call 317-291-8600 or email at sales@arcindy.com

ARC looks forward to ensuring your success.

PRODUCT EVALUATION TESTING

Aerodynamic devices work differently based on the shapes of the tractor and trailer. Therefore, selecting the right aftermarket aerodynamic devices for a fleet's tractor/trailer combination can mean the difference between making little impact to saving a lot of money on fuel.

ARC offers product evaluation services to help make the best selection for your fleet. We start out with your fleet's current tractor/trailer combination to determine the baseline fuel economy. We then use ARC's catalog of aftermarket parts made available by the many aftermarket companies to optimize different combinations. Finally we prepare a summary report to help you make the best selection for the greatest fuel savings.

Read more about the service at the ARC website or by reading the brochure. To sign up for the product evaluation testing, call 317-291-8600 or email at sales@arcindy.com

TECH ZONE

TECH ZONE is an additional area of our newsletter where each month a customer question will be answered by the related expert at ARC. So, please send in any questions you might have, from wind tunnel test instrumentation, cfd workings,to tuning your shocks.
Ask your questions at techzone@arcindy.com

How does aerodynamic drag relate to fuel economy?

Aerodynamic drag is proportional to the square of velocity, and hence the power needed to overcome drag is proportional to the cube of velocity. This means that there is a very strong relationship between the speed that a vehicle is travelling and the proportion of the fuel used to overcome drag.

For passenger cars this means that aerodynamics is responsible for a much higher proportion of the fuel used in the highway cycle than the city cycle: 50% for highway; versus 20% for city. This means that if you make a 10% reduction in aerodynamic drag your highway fuel economy will improve by approximately 5%, and your city fuel economy by approximately 2%.

Two things are occurring that are making aerodynamics even more important. The first is that drive cycle speeds are gradually increasing to better reflect the way we use our cars. For example the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) has an average speed of 33.6kph, whereas the new Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedures (WLTP) has a speed of 46.5kph, an increase of 38%.

The second is that as more and more vehicles are hybridized, then the regenerative braking reduces the effect of weight, and hence increases the proportion of the total losses coming from aerodynamics. For a high speed cycle with multiple acceleration and deceleration events this increase can be as much as 44%.

Finally for trucks the conventional wisdom has always been that aerodynamics is only really important for line haul where average speeds are high, but because both intermodal and P&D cycles do incorporate some high speed driving aerodynamics is still important for them as well.