Aerodynamic Simulations of a Class 8 Heavy Truck: Comparison to Wind Tunnel Results and Investigation of Blockage Influences
- Resource Type
- research-article
- Authors
- Horrigan, Kevin; Duncan, Brad; Sivakumar, Pradeep; Gupta, Anurag; Wong, Alec
- Source
- SAE Transactions, 2007 Jan 01. 116, 372-383.
- Subject
- Trailers
Wind tunnels
Trucks
Simulations
Charge flow devices
Modeling
Tractors
Wind tunnel models
Aerodynamics
Geometry
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0096736X
25771531
The accuracy of the Lattice-Boltzmann based simulation method for prediction of aerodynamic drag on a heavy truck was evaluated by comparing results to twenty percent scale model wind tunnel measurements from the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory (UWAL). A detailed preproduction Kenworth T2000 tractor trailer was used as the scale model. The results include a comparison of normalized drag between simulation and wind tunnel as well as percentage drag change with the addition of a radius to the rear edge of the trailer. Significant effort was involved to model all of the wind tunnel details affecting the tractor-trailer drag. These are discussed along with the results of additional simulations which were performed to study the impact of the UWAL tunnel geometry relative to a tunnel with the same blockage and constant cross-sectional area, and a case with negligible blockage. Advanced post-processing of the simulation results was used to study the drag contribution from the trailer features including underbody, rear bumper, and bogie wheel assembly.