The Truck and Bus Aerodynamic and Fuel Economy Committee reports to the Total Vehicle Steering Committee of the Truck and Bus Council. The committee has the authority to establish and discharge task forces and subcommittees as necessary for initiating, developing, reviewing, and approving Recommended Practices, Standards, Draft Technical Reports, Technical Data Reports, and Information Reports related to the aerodynamics and fuel economy of single unit trucks, tractor-trailer combination vehicles and buses of all weight categories intended for highway use. All committee work products are based upon established engineering and scientific principals and supported by peer reviewed published technical reports. The aerodynamics of trucks and buses are extremely complex requiring unique testing and evaluation tools to represent critical flow features that allow an accurate determination of vehicle aerodynamics. The committee develops testing and analysis procedures for aerodynamic investigations of operational vehicles, concept vehicles, and a wide range of vehicle components including both passive and active technologies. Representative aerodynamic technologies include such items as fairings, flow control systems, boat tails, and skirts. A second and equally important committee work area is the development of procedures to determine the fuel economy of a complete vehicle or the change in fuel economy of a vehicle resulting from a change in a vehicle system. Fuel economy testing and analysis procedures are developed for on-road and on-track testing of trucks and buses. These procedures are required to address the unique testing requirements associated with changes in all vehicle systems such as aerodynamics, fuel, lube, drive train, and tires. A critical element of all committee work is to ensure the latest test equipment, facilities, and instrumentation technology as well as current and rigorous engineering procedures are included in all committee work products. The committee works with other SAE committees and councils, truck and bus organizations as well as academia and government agencies. Committee members include individuals from original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, consulting firms, government employees, academia and others involved in the truck and bus industries.
SAE Staff Representatives: Jana Wright
