Hydraulic retarders improve more than just safety


On January 5, 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice requesting that dangerous goods vehicles with a total mass of more than 12 tons should be equipped with retarders or other auxiliary braking devices. One stone provoked thousands of waves. When the notice came out, the "heavy truck installation retarder" became the focus of public opinion. Many media and industry experts chose eddy current retarder or hydraulic retarder or retarder for heavy goods vehicles. For heavy truck users, whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages or the disadvantages outweigh the benefits and other issues.

What is the effect of installing a retarder on a heavy truck? Will there be a corresponding increase in the cost of heavy-duty card users after installing the retarder? To this end, Fang Dewang reporters interviewed Voith-related personnel of the Chinese company.

Domestic heavy truck retarder market is opening

Retarder is an auxiliary system for car braking. When the car is decelerating or down a long slope, the retarder is enabled to decelerate smoothly, avoiding wear and heat caused by the use of brakes. There are mainly two types of retarders, eddy current retarder and hydraulic retarder. The retarder plays an important role in assisting the braking of heavy vehicles, especially in areas where there are many roads or slopes.

Currently in China, retarders are mainly used in large passenger vehicles and are not used in heavy trucks. However, with the continuous opening of the market, retarders have caused the domestic heavy truck market to pay close attention.

Voith's "Kama" Hydraulic Retarder Designed for the Chinese Truck Market

As the world's leading retarder manufacturer, Voith has already spotted China's heavy truck market. In addition to the three tandem retarders introduced earlier for buses VR133-2, VR120-QLL and Maxima, in September 2011, Voith also introduced a parallel type retarder dedicated to the Chinese heavy truck market. "Kama VR115CN".

According to Peng Zhenjun, General Sales Manager of Sales Subsidiary in South China, Voith Turbo Technology Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., introduced: “VR115CN is derived from the Mercedes-Benz standard design concept and is invested in Voith by the Chinese market, and is now gradually localized. In the process, our goal is to cut into the Chinese truck market with this most cost-effective product.This retarder currently performs well in the market and has cooperated with major truck manufacturers in China. Some of them have passed the prototype test and some have already produced samples. Cars, some of which have already been listed in small quantities, have a good market response."

Voith's Drive Technology Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Sales General Manager of South China Sales Division Peng Zhenjun

Today, as the policy advances, the domestic heavy truck retarder market is opening up.
Hydraulic retarder is a trend

According to the reporter's knowledge, as a major supplier of the global hydraulic retarder market, all Voith's retarders that enjoy a high reputation in the industry are hydraulic retarders. What is the difference between a hydraulic retarder and an eddy current retarder?

“The world’s first hydraulic retarder was developed by Voith in 1964. More than half of Voit’s patents for more than 7,000 product technologies are related to hydrodynamic transmissions. It is the founder and promoter of the hydraulic retarder." Andre Rui, Director of the Highway Division of Voith Turbo Technology Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., introduced. According to him, currently in Europe, hydraulic retarders are standard on passenger cars, and 100% of passenger cars are equipped with hydraulic retarders and no eddy current retarder; on the truck side, there is no mandatory installation of retarder. However, more than 60% of vehicles still choose to install a hydraulic retarder. Although many vehicles already have an engine braking system.

Voith Turbo Technology Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

It is precisely because of the advantages of the products and the market prospects that an international company like Voith continues to invest huge sums of money in the development and advancement of hydraulic retarders. According to Andrei, compared to eddy current retarder, hydraulic retarder has unparalleled advantages in terms of deadweight, continuous braking and energy saving. First, the weight of Voith's hydraulic retarder is only about 50 kilograms (the weight of eddy current retarder (2000nm-3200nm) for domestic >12ton trucks is generally 100-450kg). Second, the hydraulic retarder saves the friction plate compared to the eddy current retarder. When the eddy current retarder is operated, the cooling is caused by the wind, so that the temperature rises quickly, the braking performance drops significantly, and the hydraulic retarder is cooled by water. The temperature rise is not obvious, it is almost ineffective to drop, and it can be ready to work at full capacity. Tests have shown that hydraulic retarders save friction plates 2-3 times more than eddy current retarders. Third, the excellent heat dissipation capability of the hydraulic retarder makes it particularly suitable for the continuous braking conditions required by the long slope, and is currently the only solution to the problem of mountain braking failure. Fourth, the hydraulic retarder vehicle is superior to the eddy current retarder vehicle in terms of weight, inertia, maintaining more reasonable engine operating speed, and maintaining a higher downhill vehicle speed, and the fuel consumption is less than 2-5%. . Because of this, the application of eddy current retarder in Europe was further reduced in the 1990s, and after a few years, it basically withdrew from the European market.

Hydraulic retarder

Although the hydraulic retarder has many advantages, it has not yet been popularized in the domestic heavy truck market. The first reason is that the previous security has not been given as much attention as it is now. Second, because of the high installation cost, the investment value has not been widely recognized in the market in the short term.

With the increasing concern, investment, and competitiveness of domestic and foreign companies in this market, the cost of various types of retarders is in a downward path. Hao Xu, Senior Sales Manager of Voith Turbo Technology Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., told Fang De.com: “At present, the market price of Voith Truck's special hydraulic retarder Ka'anma VR115CN is regulated by the eddy current retarder with the same torque. The price difference between the devices is already very close, but the performance is certainly better than the eddy current retarder, so that the Caome VR115CN is very cost-effective."

Hao Xu, Senior Sales Manager, Voith Turbo Technology Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

More importantly, the use of hydraulic retarders can help truckers reduce their transportation costs. According to Hao Xu, trucks in mountainous areas are equipped with a water tank, which is mainly used to spray tire rims to lower the temperature. Normally, 400 kg to 1200 kg are to be installed. “The drivers who often run along the mountain road know that they often encounter continuous braking in the mountains. Without a hydraulic retarder, the brakes continuously increase the temperature of the friction plates and rims. In order to ensure the braking effect, Need water to cool down."

The reporter simply calculated that, according to the current domestic minimum shipping cost of 4 cents, a heavy truck will run at least 60,000 kilometers a year. The calculation will be based on the minimum standard for the water capacity of the tank. After installing the hydraulic retarder, at least 300 kg can be reduced. The water load, thus reducing the vehicle load, allows the vehicle to pull 300 kg more cargo each time. According to the calculation, 0.3 (t) × 0.4 (yuan) × 60000 (km) = 7200 yuan, which means that after installing the hydraulic retarder, the vehicle can pull 300 kilograms of cargo each time, thus earning at least 7200 yuan per year. money. If you calculate by 1000 kg water tank, it is 21,600 yuan.

In addition, according to the reporter’s understanding, in these areas of water shortages in Shanxi and Datong, there are generally family-style water stations on the mountain roads. Adding water once is about 20 yuan. More importantly, adding water requires queues and delays in transportation efficiency. This is undoubtedly an increase in transportation costs. Nearly 5,000 yuan of unnecessary waste is converted into income each year. This is a considerable economic account for truck users.

According to Hao Xu, in addition to reducing its own weight, hydraulic retarders can also help trucks effectively protect tires. Tyres are one of the most frequent items in daily maintenance and repair of heavy trucks. As we all know, the material of the tire is derived from rubber. Due to the characteristics of the rubber itself, the life of the tire is closely related to the temperature. In the mountains for a long time the brakes will bring high temperatures to the tires, a great loss of the tires, so the driver often ran the trail on the road to spread the phrase "a sudden brake, less tires for three days."

According to a survey conducted by Fangde.com, the current cost of heavy-duty tires is about RMB 3,000. The tire replacement cycle for the front tire is generally 8 months, and the tire for the rear tire is 3 months. It can be seen that the annual cost of tire upgrades has become the largest part of mountain area users' transportation costs.

"If the vehicle uses a hydraulic retarder, it will not bring such a high temperature to the brake when braking, and it can effectively protect the tire." Hao Xu said, "Taking Voith hydraulic retarder as an example, according to our statistics, According to the data, after using the Voith Turbo Retarder, the tire replacement cycle can be extended by approximately 1.5 times, which in turn significantly reduces the cost of the tire.” A long-distance truck driver has simply calculated and installed the retarder. The annual cost savings for tires can reach 8,000 yuan, while the annual savings for mountain truck drivers can reach as high as 40,000 yuan.

This way, Voith Retarder can not only protect the safety of vehicles, occupants and passers-by, but also save a lot of annual operating expenses. For many owners who are concerned about the increased cost of installing a retarder, using the retarder will significantly reduce operating costs over the entire operating cycle.

This means that installing Voith Retarder not only responds to national calls, complies with regulatory requirements, but also better protects personal safety while also improving operating returns.

About Voith Drive China

As early as 1966, the Voith Turbo was already rooted in China, and it has been more than 40 years. Through the roads, rails, ships and industrial applications in China, we have been providing Chinese customers with the most reliable technology and best-matched product design and services. Voith Turbo has been rapidly developed in China and has established relationships with Chinese customers. Established a good long-term relationship.

Voith Turbo Technology Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is the headquarters of Voith Turbo in China. The company was established in February 2001. At present, it has a total of 12,000 m2 of land and 7,200 m2 of floor space. All production and test equipment are imported from Germany, which enables them to provide Chinese customers with products of the same quality as those in Germany. As Voith Drive's first production and service base in China, we supply a wide range of products for use in road transport, rail transit, marine transportation and industrial applications such as retarders and passenger cars installed in trucks and passenger cars. In the field of automatic transmissions, there are drive products for railway applications, Scharfenberg couplers, axle gearboxes, cooling systems, and the like. At the same time, some marine transportation products are also provided, such as Voith Schneider propellers (VSPs) for tugboats, ferries, offshore oil vessels, and Voith's conventional all-rotary propellers for oil platforms, semi-submersible platforms, and drilling vessels. (VRP). In addition, our products are also widely used in industrial fields such as torque limit couplers, fluid couplings, hydraulic speed couplers, BHS gear boxes, wind power equipment, electronic drive systems, hydraulic gear pump systems, universal Shafts, face gear couplings, safety couplings, highly flexible couplings, etc. We also provide training, service and original Spare Parts for customers in China.

In China, Voith Drive has more than 15 workplaces. Through sales and production bases in Shanghai, representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and service centers in Shanghai, Shenyang, Taiyuan and Shunde, these sales and satellite services are close to the customer base, ensuring that we provide timely and professional Technical Support.

China Voith Turbo will continue to provide excellent hydraulic transmission technology, products and services for the Chinese market, and is committed to saving energy and reducing emissions.

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