Ateco explains how Telma Emission-Free Braking is helping the waste industry reduce the deadly impact of air pollution, while simultaneously reducing driver maintenance and fuel costs.
Air pollution is estimated to contribute to about 3000 deaths in Australia each year, according to data by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has researched the impact of air pollution in its 2012 research, which found that without new policies, by 2050, air pollution is slated to become the world’s top environmental cause of premature mortality.
In the face of this ever-growing problem, automotive businesses have been championing technology which looks to reduce the carbon footprint. A major problem related to air pollution is airborne particles, which includes dust, smoke, dirt and liquid droplets. Motor vehicle emissions are just one cause of particles emitted directly into the air, according to the Department of the Environment and Heritage 2005 fact sheet.
Telma Emission-Free Braking, an international leader in friction-free braking systems, has considered the impact of airborne particles in the development of its Telma retarder, an induction break solution. Available through Australian distributor Ateco Automotive, the Telma induction brake system is said to significantly reduce fine air particles caused by braking through electromagnetic induction technology.
The Telma electromagnetic product was first developed by the company in 1954. According to Telma, the technology was envisioned when French public authorities required the use of a retarder on all vehicles transporting passengers of more than eight tonnes of gross vehicle weight in areas declared rugged. One year later, the first Telma retarder was developed.
Bruce Poole, National Sales Manager, Ateco Equipment, says that being frictionless, the system doesn’t emit any fine particles.
“Telma induction brakes, which are also known as electrical or electromagnetic retarders, dissipate a large part of the braking friction, which causes air particles,” Bruce explains.
Bruce says that Telma induction braking systems dissipate this braking energy by generating eddy currents. Telma induction braking systems are made of a fixed stator, the stationary part of a rotary system, and a pair of rotors attached to the driveshaft to allow it to rotate. The stator and the rotors are mounted coaxially, opposite to one another, and are separated by a narrow air gap, avoiding any friction. The stator plays the role of the inductor, it is made of a pair of electromagnets, which generate electromagnetic fields when electricity continuously flows through the stator coils, producing eddy currents in the mass of the rotor.
“The generation of eddy currents in the mass of the rotor helps counteract the rotation of the rotor. The braking torque that is generated and applied to the transmission shaft slows the vehicle,” Bruce explains.
“The eddy currents produce a gradual rise in rotor temperature and the heat is then released into the atmosphere through ventilation systems. Through this ventilation, Telma’s system is effectively able to slow down a rotating shaft without friction, reducing the impact of particles in the environment.”
Bruce says that this explanation is only one piece of the puzzle, as induction braking systems involve complex physics such as materials resistance principles, electromagnetism, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.
Telma’s research in Europe has found that the pollution reduction effect using induction brakes is particularly effective for vehicles travelling in urban areas. The company estimates the Telma retarder allows for an 85 per cent reduction in fine particle emissions, when compared to vehicles fitted without electromagnetic induction technologies. The modelling has been improved by years of practical experience and laboratory testing, Bruce says. It is for these reasons that Ateco has been the Australian sales agent for Telma since 1975.
Read the full story on page 44 of Issue 14.