In this article, Sandip Chakroborty, Managing Director of JCBL Marrel Tippers Pvt. Ltd., explores the role of safety in heavy-duty commercial vehicles and the challenges of integrating advanced safety features while ensuring optimal performance and efficiency. Innovation and concrete design thinking play a critical role in all of this.

Heavy-duty commercial vehicles are critical across industries, acting as connectors in a vast system. From moving cargo to supporting defence and infrastructure projects, these machines operate in complex environments where safety is necessary. In this case, safety goes far beyond mere compliance and regulations; it is a fundamental aspect of design, engineering, and operations that ensures the safety of passengers, drivers, armed personnel, operators, and precious cargo. Integrating safety features within this vehicle class can often pose a significant challenge that requires striking a delicate balance between performance, efficiency, and innovation to ensure that customers of heavy-duty vehicles can enjoy safety and convenience.

Challenges That Exist

Heavy-duty commercial vehicles operate under circumstances vastly different from ordinary passenger vehicles. They often have to carry heavier loads, travel longer distances, and navigate challenging terrains. Such factors create safety challenges that demand addressing at every step of product development. The key focus areas include aerodynamics, braking systems, weight distribution, operator safety, and body structure. All of these elements are critical in ensuring that the vehicles are safe.

Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is a fundamental factor in heavy-duty vehicles, especially logistics, where they must be on the road for a long time. Poor aerodynamics can lead to instability at high speeds, higher fuel consumption, and higher emissions. Optimising this factor is a complex task, where factors like wind resistance, drag coefficients, and external attachment impact come into play. Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations help model airflow and identify potential product improvements. Over the years, features such as roof fairings, side skirts, and tapered rear ends have reduced drag and improved fuel efficiency. They should also be able to withstand harsh operating conditions and protect the structural integrity of the vehicles.

Superior Braking Systems

Braking systems are arguably the most essential part of heavy-duty vehicles. The massive weight of such vehicles requires advanced technologies. ABS, EBS, and regenerative braking systems have already become the norm to provide better control, reduce stopping distances, and prevent skidding, especially in adverse weather conditions. Engineers also have to ensure that braking systems are safely integrated with other features.

Better Weight Distribution

Distributing the substantial weight of such vehicles is an intricate task. Uneven

weight distribution can lead to rollovers, excessive wear, and more. In this case, the focus should be on designing a capable chassis and suspension system. For example, advanced load management systems can be hugely beneficial in logistics.

Ideal Body Structure

A heavy-duty vehicle’s body structure must be durable and protect occupants even in a crash. The frames must be robust enough to endure collisions while minimising cargo damage. High-strength steel, aluminium, and composite materials can be used to achieve a healthy balance of security and functionality.

Operator Safety

Long hours, fatigue, limited visibility, rugged terrains, and other challenges plague heavy-duty commercial vehicle operators. Manufacturers have already begun introducing advanced driver assistance systems and ergonomic designs to address these challenges. Such advanced features would help operators in all domains, from logistics to combat roles.

Balancing Safety Without Compromising On Efficiency

Adding safety features to heavy-duty vehicles adds weight, complexity, and costs, impeding the overall performance. In critical situations, for example, in war zones where efficiency is key or logistics, on-time delivery can make or break a professional relationship. Every product decision can be tricky, where reinforcing body structure might improve crash protection, but it would also mean higher fuel consumption. Similarly, providing advanced features might lead to higher operational costs. Avoiding such pitfalls requires adopting a comprehensive product design approach through advanced materials, innovative technologies, and data-driven design processes. Another emerging trend is the use of connected vehicle technologies that redefine safety and reduce the impact of human errors.

Conclusion

Many different factors need to come together to ensure safety in heavy-duty commercial vehicles, including everything from aerodynamics to braking systems to operator comfort and much more. While there are a lot of challenges in integrating safety functions, manufacturers can overcome them by designing and producing vehicles that incorporate advanced innovative technologies, materials, data-driven design processes, and autopilot tools. As the needs continue to evolve, the importance of safety cannot be overstated. However, safety should not be an afterthought or a functionality to be added on; rather, it should be the driving principle in each step of the vehicle design process.

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The views expressed by the author are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CV Magazine.