Thermal Load Reduction of Truck Tractor Sleeper Cabins

Abstract

Several configurations of truck tractor sleeper cabs were tested and modeled to investigate the potential to reduce heating and cooling loads. Two trucks were tested outdoors and a third was used as a control. Data from the testing were used to validate a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and this model was used to predict reductions in cooling loads during daytime rest periods. The test configurations included the application of standard-equipped sleeper privacy curtain and window shades, an optional insulated or arctic sleeper curtain, and insulated window coverings. The standard curtain reduced sleeper area heating load by 21% in one test truck, while the arctic curtain decreased it by 26%. Insulated window coverings reduced the heating load by 16% in the other test truck and lowered daytime solar temperature gain by 8˚C. The lowered temperature resulted in a predicted 34% reduction in cooling load from the model. Modeling also predicted doubling cab insulation could reduce cooling load by 35% and up to 54% with the sleeper curtain closed. Infrared images of the truck cabs identified other potential areas to reduce heat loss that included areas around window and door seals, at body and structural seams, and areas where insulation may be lacking around air circulation ducts.

Lateral Buckling of Pipe-in-Pipe Systems under Sleeper-Distributed Buoyancy—A Numerical Investigation

“…Therefore, thermal expansion can be evenly distributed into a series of buckling to ensure that the pipelines will not have a large axial movement. Various methods, including snake laying [11], vertical offset (sleeper method) [12], and local load reduction (distributed buoyancy method) [13], have been used to induce the buckling of pipelines at a certain location. The snake-shaped buckling distance is a half wavelength, which is defined as the distance among continuous snake-shaped vertices.…”

Numerical Modeling of Solar Radiation Heat Transfer for a Truck Cabin

“…The operation of exhaust fan and blower will depend on temperature sensors which will send signals to a microcontroller that senses the change in temperature. Kenneth Proc [10] aimed at reducing the reducing the thermal loads inside truck tractor cabin by providing ventilation systems. It is noted that curtain partitioning and insulation of windows reduce the power requirement by 35% and the optimized model has increased air flow and uniform temperature distribution.…”