Volvo unveils US 2007 truck engine family

21 October 2005

Volvo unveiled a complete family of heavy-duty diesel engines for the North American market, meeting the US 2007 emission standards. The new family of engines—introduced during the ATA Management Conference & Exhibition in Boston—will include 11- and 13-liter models, in addition to the 16-liter Volvo D16 introduced earlier this year.

Volvo has selected “high-performance exhaust gas recirculation” (HEGR) as the primary method for NOx emissions control. Volvo has been using EGR in its truck engines since October 2002. Volvo 2007 engines will use a higher rate of EGR to achieve the lower NOx emissions. The 2007 emission regulation requires an almost 50% reduction of NOx (fleet average) relative to the 2004 NOx+NMHC limit of 2.5 g/bhp-hr.

A diesel particulate filter (DPF) will be used in the 2007 engines for particulate control. All of Volvo’s 2007 engines are designed to use ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel, which will become available in the second half of 2006. The 2007 PM emission standard is 0.01 g/bhp-hr, down from the 1994 limit of 0.1 g/bhp-hr.

In addition to the emission reductions solutions, Volvo’s 2007 engine family will include the following hardware, already featured in the current Volvo D16 model:

• High-pressure fuel injection with multiple injections per stroke
• Increased peak cylinder pressures
• Single-stage variable geometry turbocharger (VGT)
• Reinforced base engine components to handle internal loads
• High-capacity cooling system fully integrated into truck design
• Centrifugal closed crankcase ventilation

The new family of engines will maintain the level of fuel economy demonstrated by the current Volvo D12, said Volvo.

The new engines will be built at the Volvo Powertrain North America plant in Hagerstown, MD. The Volvo Group has invested $150 million in the Hagerstown plant to bring Volvo engine production to North America.

Source: Volvo (press release)