For the business and trade press
Siemens VDO debuts piezo diesel technology for commercial vehicles
Now, not only cars can become more economical and reduce emissions
Hanover, September 19, 2006
It has proven itself millions of times in passenger cars: Piezo injection technology sets standards for the reduction of emissions in diesel and four-stroke gasoline engines. Now Siemens VDO is implementing this fast, precise, clean injection technology into light commercial vehicles. Thanks to piezo common rail direct diesel injection, small delivery vans and pick-ups, for example, not only consume less fuel, but cause fewer emissions as well. The system for commercial vehicles will be shown for the first time at the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2006 show this month in Hanover, Germany.
Ever-tighter emissions regulations, rising fuel prices and consumers’ desire for vehicle operation that is economical and reliable mean that vehicle manufacturers are faced with greater challenges. In general, commercial vehicles must perform for a greater mileage than passenger cars, which explains why economical, long-lasting propulsion concepts are so important in this class of vehicles.
Siemens VDO is now offering piezo common rail diesel injection systems for light commercial vehicles such as small delivery vans and American pick-ups with weights of up to 6 tons and engines with up to 6.5 liters of cylinder capacity. In doing so, the company is drawing on its experience with piezo direct diesel injection for passenger cars. Alongside injectors, these components include high-pressure pumps and control units. In addition, Siemens VDO offers numerous sensors and actuators that carry out operation and measurement tasks along the air and exhaust gas conduits.
Piezo technology represents a big plus for light commercial vehicles as well: High injection pressures, currently at more than 1,750 bars, atomize the fuel very finely, and the equally precise measurement of tiny and large amounts of fuel and rapid switching enable the injection profile to be adjusted exactly according to the engine’s operating status at the time. Using flexible multiple injection, for example, the stages of combustion can be shaped in the cylinder, optimizing the entire combustion process. Diesel engines with piezo common rail injection save up to 25 percent of the fuel used by four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, gasoline engines. Piezo common rail technology as part of the overall vehicle tuning can save up to 15 percent fuel consumption in comparison with conventional diesel engines, and makes it easier to meet emission standards.
High-performance piezo actuation in the transmission control unit will use the full technical potential of the technology. Pros of this technology include the durable high quality of injection over the entire functional life of a light commercial vehicle. To this end, the control unit balances out production tolerances and environmental influences. The piezo driver can use the actuator’s characteristics for injector-selective actuation, as well as to compensate for mechanical and hydraulic deviations. Overall, piezo technology makes precise, economical and reliable injection systems possible.
And the developments continue. Future piezo injection systems from Siemens VDO will be designed for injection pressures of 2,000 bars and more. Additional technical progress and functions that have been expanded are aimed at achieving a higher level of thermodynamic efficiency and thus a higher torque per liter of cylinder capacity. Future generations of pumps will almost certainly achieve an even greater output pressure.
As a pioneer in the use of piezo technology in vehicles (piezo diesel injection was introduced to the market in 2000), Siemens VDO is bringing its experience to bear in further development. About 4 million diesel passenger cars in Europe with piezo injection, and thus more than 16 million injectors, are the basis for the use of piezo injectors in light commercial vehicles. What’s more, the use of this technology will not change anything about vehicle manufacturers’ cooperation with their trusted partner: With more than 4 million transmission control units for commercial vehicles and more than 1 million combined engine and transmission control units — so-called powertrain controllers — delivered annually, the supplier has been firmly established on the commercial vehicles market for many years.
As Siemens VDO focuses on electronics and mechatronics, the company brings core competencies to its developments — and will continue to do so in order to make vehicle engines more efficient and cleaner. With this approach, Siemens VDO is driving innovation in a growing vehicle electronics market.
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For more information, please visit http://www.siemensvdo.com/contactus.
Siemens VDO Automotive is a leading international automotive electronics and mechatronic supplier. The group is part of Siemens AG and generated sales of EUR 9.6 billion in the 2005 business year (30.9.).
Reference Number: SV 200609.006 en
