Replacing the standard two thinner tires per wheel with a single wider tire makes heavy tractor-trailer trucks more fuel efficient and allows them to be made to run with more stability, Oak Ridge National Laboratory studies show. Interstate tests by ORNL's National Transportation Research Center show gas mileage increased nearly 3 percent with use of wider single tires on tractor-trailers. Bill Knee, who headed the study, said the change also allows widening of the trailer frame by six inches, providing a much more stable configuration. Knee said tire formulation and the design of the tire are likely contributors to the fuel savings. The fuel economy tests were conducted along a route from Western Michigan to Portland, Ore., that involved many types of terrain, varying weather conditions and different levels of congestion. Additional testing of five instrumented trucks over a 12-month period will be initiated this fall. Lessons learned from these types of studies are preliminary to further efforts to develop a heavy truck of the future that will be more energy efficient and stable than conventional trucks. The research is funded by DOE's Office of FreedomCar and Vehicle Technologies.
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