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Technical Paper

A Two-Dimensional External Aerodynamics Tool (EAT) for Simulating Airflow around Tractor-Trailer Combinations

2001-11-12
2001-01-2743
Understanding external vehicle aerodynamics is an integral step in reducing overall vehicle fuel consumption. This is particularly true for long-haul commercial vehicles where an incremental decrease in drag can translate into significant fuel savings based on the number of miles traveled over the course of a truck's working life. The ability to critically analyze the air motion adjacent to commercial vehicles is a step toward understanding the overall affects of external aerodynamics on the entire vehicle. To achieve this understanding, the aerodynamics problem must be divided into manageable tasks that can each yield qualitative and quantitative results. A two-dimensional (2D) External Aerodynamics Tool (EAT) has been developed that enables computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of commercial vehicles to be performed quickly and easily.
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