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(Tue 18 Mar 08) If you've ever had to overtake a large lorry on a very wet road you'll know how badly visibility can be affected by spray. According to recent research by the Transport Research Laboratory, a new product developed by British company Spraydown can improve the situation by 43%.
The Spraydown system relies on vane design technology more familiar in the use of turbines in aircraft engines and power generators, though in this case the vanes are fixed rather than spinning. Their effect is to capture the spray as it's created, and then channel it so that it leaves the lorry only slightly above the surface of the road. This is good news for car drivers, and pretty useful for transport companies too. The redirection of the spray - and particularly the road dirt that it carries - means that signwriting on the side of the lorry stays visible for longer. And because the system redirects airflow in an efficient manner even when there's no spray, it seems likely that fuel bills will be cut by over 2%. Spraydown has already been tested by major fleet operators across the UK, and it will make its first formal appearance at the Commercial Vehicle Show, which is being held on April 15-17 at the NEC near Birmingham. It will then be sold nationwide through Sheffield-based Universal Components. |
