Retarders for Heavy Vehicles: Phase II. Field Evaluations

摘要

A field survey of 117 heavy trucks operating on severe grades near Cumberland, Maryland has produced findings indicating that the average temperature of brakes on vehicles equipped with retarders is approximately 60C less than that found on vehicles without retarders. No evidence was found to suggest that commercial vehicles equipped with retarders have foundation brakes which are better maintained than those installed on nonretarder-equipped vehicles. In fact, truck brake maintenance appears, in general, to be rather poor, given that many of the inspected vehicles had one or more brakes out of proper adjustment. It can be concluded that the lower temperatures observed on vehicles equipped with retarders should lead to benefits in both safety and brake wear.