Title: Effectiveness of tail devices for wake control of road heavy vehicles

Authors: Mohammad Saeedi; Ali Tarokh; Kefu Liu

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; Department of Aerospace Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: In the current research, a series of numerical simulations of the flow field around a typical tractor-trailer combination with and without a drag reduction device (i.e., boat tail) have been performed to study the effect of the device on wake structures and flow evolution behind the trailer. The results of the simulations have been validated through comparison of the drag coefficient against available wind-tunnel measurement data. Based on the evolution profiles and flow visualisation behind the trailer, it has been shown that the trailer wake region in proximity of the trailer rear surface is significantly influenced by the trailer boat tail. As such a quicker flow recovery, smaller recirculation bubble and lower level of turbulent kinetic energy is obtained when the boat tail is utilised. This resulted in about 8.6% decrease in the vehicle aerodynamic drag and 4.6% fuel saving based on the travelling speed of 65 mph.

Keywords: drag reduction devices; aerodynamics of heavy truck; wake control; boat tail.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAD.2021.112750

International Journal of Aerodynamics, 2021 Vol.7 No.2, pp.176 - 194

Received: 27 Jan 2020
Accepted: 21 Oct 2020
Published online: 01 Feb 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article