Hi I am Adam and welcomeagain to Studio Allison brought to you by Allison (Transmission), a technology company specialized in fully automatic transmissions and electrified propulsion solutions. Today –in this Extreme Vehicles Episode–we will explore the fascinating world of extreme trucks & busesoperating in off road applications. During the showwewill bring you on a journey to learn more about how these exceptional vehicles can drive in the toughest conditions;driving in hot andsandy deserts & dunes, maneuvering on very slippery glacier ice, plowing through thick layers of snow or climbing on mountains of rocks. During the show we will tune in on why and how Allison can make a difference for your fleet. When downtime is not an option!
Today joining us in thestudio areMeltem Darakciand Henk Lemmen from Allison. Hi there!As market and technology expertsthey will provide interesting insights and comments about thegreat stories and very special vehicles our guests will talk abouttoday.Iwill first have a talk with [person name & title]from BAE Systems Hägglundsin Sweden who I will ask howdoesfully automatic transmissions make their tracked “caterpillar” (rupsband) vehicles, asthey say,an “unstoppable Nordic hero which can flow through deep snow”. We will then move to the other side of the hemisphere, to Bell Equipment in South Africa, who is specialized in building gigantic off highway trucksoperating in remote mines and quarries. Later onwe will switch back to the freezing cold againandI will talk with Astvaldur Oskarsson from Icelandic Sleipnir Tours. I will ask him why Allison is indispensible for the monsterous coach busesthey drive during mind-boggling glacier expeditions in on theworld famousLangjökullice cap in Iceland. So a busy programwith “hot”and “cold”topics, let's get startedwith an interview I had earlier today with [person name & title]from BAE Systems!
Interview
Hi, [person name]. Thanks for joining us today.BAE Systems is one of the world’s largest Aerospace, Defense & Security companies. I understand you are the [job title] of BAESystems Hägglunds, a business unitdeveloping specialized defense vehicles like the BvS10, andarmored all terrain vehicle. Can you maybe explain a bit more for which duties BvS10 vehicles are used?
Adam]Amazing how these “snowcats” can operate in such tough conditions and as it looks from the visuals –in some cases almost drive up a hill vertically!I can imagine this requires specialized technology to managethose conditions. Can you explain how a fully automatic transmission help these teams do their jobsin these critical missions?
[Henk]Sure. When you take the example of going onto a very steep hill, with snow with such tracked vehicle you need grip and power on each centimeter of the track. What is very important also is that you have continuous power to the tracks. This is where our a fully automatic transmission with a torque converter comes into play. The torque converter is where the magic happens.
If you look at this image –similar what we have in a fully automatic transmission -we see here two fans, sitting opposite each other. If one fan is driven and is blowing air towards the other fan, than the other fan starts moving. That is basically howour torque converter works. Instead of air, we use fluid and the pump fan is connected to the engine and the other fan, which we call a turbine, is connected through the transmission to the wheels. In between these fans, you have another small important fan called "stator". The stator turns the fluid around for a second push against the turbine wheel and that ensures the engine torque is multiplied by 2 at standstill. This results to more traction to the wheels or tracks and the ability to climb these steep hills. This is where manuals/automated manuals could have potential clutch plate issues (overheat/damage) in these extreme conditions. Besides the torque converter, with our planetary gears sets in the transmission we have continuous power technology. This results in having continuous power to the wheels without interrupts while shifting in comparison to manuals or even automated manuals which do have power shift interrupts! You can see this torque converter as a compact fully hydraulic transmission and it is continuously variable as well. Since it is using fluid for all motion, it is wear free and minimizes wear & tear of the transmission and the complete powertrain for these off-road vehicles which operate round the clock. 24/7.
Thanks Henk. That nicely explains the technology behind these fascinating BsV10 vehicles!
Now let’s move all the way from the cold Sweden in the Northern part of the globe all the way to a nice and warm place on the Southern hemisphere, South Africa ☺Let’s watch an interview I did with [Bell person name]from BellEquipment yesterday. Bell Equipment is South Africa’s major designer and manufacturer of very heavy equipment. The articulated dump truck (ADT) is the group’s core product and Bell is acknowledged globally as an ADT specialist and innovator in this space.Let’s have a closerlook at the variety of extreme conditions and duties these huge and heavy dump trucks have to work in.
INTERVIEW:
Hi [persons name], welcome to the show!I just introduced the Bell company to the audience briefly. Can you maybe explain in which applications and which extreme and demanding conditions your vehicles operate in?
What animpressive trucks! I can imagine you need a lot of power to get those moving.So Meltem, as I understand a torque converter inside a fully automatic transmission brings a lot of power to such heavy truck. Can you explain what this torque converter and continous power shifting means for the drivers of these hauling trucks or articulated dump trucks?
[Meltem]Well, to explain I brought this 3D model of this [BELL B60E] articulated dump truck we just heard about. For instance, this hauler would drive on sandy grounds as we saw -up the hill (like this, showing truck on angle) it is important the truck keeps continuous power and traction to the wheels. With a manual or automated manual youwill get power drops during shifting and you will get stuck in the sand. With Allison fully automatics and it continuous power and torque converter –you will keep power to the wheels and grip on the sandy road.
[Adam]All right. And I saw earlier that these trucks also drive forward and reverse all the time and quite fast. How does that work?
[Meltem] Ournew TerraTran transmission –based on the proven 4000 Series -has increased power ratings and a faster 2nd speed reverse with fully automatic Rear 1-Rear 2 shifting which makes it possible to drive in reverse faster, more powerful and easier. The new TerraTran is what we call a wide ratio transmission with an additional gear in between 1st and 2nd gear. By eliminating this large ratio this bringsbetter comfort and more time in lockup and fuel efficiency.On top of this the Allison fully automatics have self-learning algorithms to automatically optimize the rpm and torque level to create maximum efficiency and lowest energy usage. When combined with a retarder –literally another fan which can move in opposite direction –trucks can smoothly and easily reduce speed and safe heat and wear and tear in the service breaks.
[Adam]It sounds very easy to drive such huge heavy duty dump truck. But I am sure a guy like me cannot drive it?
[Meltem]Well funny that you mention that because actually. I am sure you can drive such truck easily. Some of the drivers even mention that it drives similar to a passenger car. This is also what we often hear from visitors who drove trucks with our fully automatic transmissions at our ride & drive track.[Adam] Wow, I must get to your ride & drive tracks one day to experience that!
[Meltem]You are more than welcome to!
Adam]And now let's continue our journey exploring some of these extreme vehicles. Let’s move from the warm and sunny Johannesburg to the freezing cold Icelandwhere we spoke with Astvaldur Oskarsson about some of the coolest buses I have seen in my life!
Hi Astvaldur. Welcome to the show [show screen with Astvaldur]. We know you are running a very exciting company, called Sleipnir Tours, bringing people to the top of the world on Iceland's Langjokull ice cap driving in gigantic coach buses. Those buses really are the monsters. Very impressive!
Can you tell us more about how this all started and what did it take to build such unique and impressive coach bus?
[Adam] With this last topic we came at the end of this show. Thankyou Henk and Meltem for joining us in the studio. Thankseveryone for watching Studio Allison today, where we explored the world of extreme vehicles built for the brave! Also check out our other Episode about Extreme vehicles where you will learn moreabout Dakar racing and some of the most powerful Heavy Equipment Transporters in the world, moving up to 300t of weight!I hope to see you again next time. Stay tuned for more!
