Annual Report 2010 - Knorr-Bremse AG.

RepoRt
103
20-inch disc brake for China
Unlike in Europe and North America, commercial vehicles in China use tires with inner tubes. This creates
a wheel contour that provides less space for disc brakes. To cope with this reduced installation
envelope Knorr-Bremse has developed a special design of brake with an internal mechanism based on
the well-known disc brake concept that has sold in its millions in the company’s core markets.
In 2010 the process of localizing production of the 20-inch disc brake began, including the development
of a local supply infrastructure. At the same time the process began of transferring an entire disc
brake assembly line from the German site in Aldersbach to Dalian, China.
ABS for BRIC
With more than 20 years’ experience of designing electronic brake control systems, Knorr-Bremse is
the world’s leading manufacturer of ABS systems. This means Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems
is well placed for accessing BRIC markets.
With its ABS system specially designed for the BRIC states, Knorr-Bremse offers a scaleable, cost-effective
solution that meets the needs of these countries. The system covers a wide range of functions: It
has to meet certain minimum requirements but also has to be modular in design and capable of being
customized to regional customers’ requirements. The ABS is therefore available with integrated ESP
function on the one hand, and on the other hand can also reproduce electronic brake control functions.
PBS – Pneumatic Booster System
The concept underlying this development is both simple and ingenious: the Pneumatic Booster System
(PBS) utilizes the compressed air that has already been generated for the braking system, injecting
measured amounts briefly into the inlet manifold of the engine to boost its short-term performance.
Within half a second the engine has enough oxygen to eliminate so-called “turbo lag” during acceleration.
This brief but significant improvement in performance enables the driver to change up faster and
maintain lower average engine revs without affecting performance.
This short-term boost in engine performance is not only useful during drive-off and overtaking. The
acceleration of a vehicle equipped with the Pneumatic Booster System is comparable to one with a
20% to 30% higher cubic capacity – which means PBS is of considerable benefit to BRIC states, where
vehicles are traditionally fitted with smaller engines.