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To investigate the feasibility of various test procedures to determine aerodynamic performance for the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Regulations for Heavy-Duty Vehicles in the United States, the US Environmental Protection Agency commissioned, through Southwest Research Institute, constant-speed torque tests of several heavy-duty tractors matched to a conventional 53-foot dry-van trailer. Torque was measured at the transmission output shaft and, for most tests, also on each of the drive wheels. Air speed was measured onboard the vehicle, and wind conditions were measured using a weather station placed along the road side. Tests were performed on a rural road in Texas. Measuring wind-averaged drag from on-road tests has historically been a challenge. By collecting data in various wind conditions at multiple speeds over multiple days, a regression-based method was developed to estimate wind-averaged drag with a low precision error for multiple tractor-trailer combinations.

A 1:10-scale wind tunnel development program was undertaken by the National Research Council of Canada and Airshield Inc. in 1994 to develop trailer side skirts that would reduce the aerodynamic drag of single and tandem trailers. Additionally, a second wind tunnel program was performed by the NRC to evaluate the fuel-saving performance of boat-tail panels when used in conjunction with the skirt-equipped single and tandem trailers. Side skirts on tandem, 8.2-m-long trailers (all model dimensions converted to full scale) were found to reduce the wind-averaged drag coefficient at 105 km/h (65 mi/h) by 0.0758. The front pair of skirts alone produced 75% of the total drag reduction from both sets of skirts and the rear pair alone produced 40% of that from both pairs. The sum of the drag reductions from front and rear skirts separately was 115% of that when both sets were fitted, suggesting an interaction between both.

A wind tunnel experiment has been conducted to determine the changes in drag and side force due to the presence and position of cab extenders on a model of a commercial tractor-trailer truck. The geometric variables investigated are the cab extenders angle of incidence, the tractor-trailer spacing and the yaw angle of the vehicle. Three cab extender angles were tested-0°, 15° (out) and -15° (in) with respect to the side of the tractor. The cab and trailer models have the same width and height. The minimum drag coefficient was found for the tractor and trailer combination when the cab extenders were set to 0° angle of incidence with respect to the headwind. This result holds for all yaw angles with moderate gap spacing between the tractor and trailer. This study suggests that commercial tractor-trailer trucks can benefit from adjustable cab extender settings; 0° when using a trailer and -15° when no trailer is used.

The use of devices to reduce aerodynamic drag on large trailers and save fuel in long-haul, over-the-road freight operations has spurred innovation and prompted some trucking fleets to use them in combinations to achieve even greater gains in fuel-efficiency. This paper examines aerodynamic performance and potential drag reduction benefits of using trailer aerodynamic components in combinations based upon wind tunnel test data. Representations of SmartWay-verified trailer aerodynamic components were tested on a one-eighth scale model of a class 8 sleeper tractor and a fifty three foot, van trailer model. The open-jet wind tunnel employed a rolling floor to reduce floor boundary layer interference. The drag impacts of aerodynamic packages are evaluated for both van and refrigerated trailers. Additionally, the interactions between individual aerodynamic devices is investigated.

The trucking industry is being encouraged by environmental and cost factors to improve fuel efficiency. One factor that affects fuel efficiency is the aerodynamic design of the vehicles; that is, the vehicles with lower aerodynamic drag will get better mileage, reducing carbon emissions and reducing costs through lower fuel usage. A significant tool towards developing vehicles with lower drag is the wind tunnel. The automobile industry has made great improvements in fuel efficiency by using wind tunnels to determine the best designs to achieve lower drag. Those wind tunnels are not optimum for testing the larger, longer heavy trucks since the wind tunnels are smaller than needed. The estimated costs for a heavy truck wind tunnel based on automotive wind tunnel technology are quite high. A potential nozzle concept to reduce wind tunnel cost and several other new possible approaches to lower wind tunnel costs are presented.

This paper is concerned with the synergistic effects of pump wear modes. The objective is to investigate the wear produced by cavitation, adhesion, abrasion, and corrosion and to verify a proposed model of the synergistic pump wear process. The approach followed includes identification of the combined effects of different wear modes (synergisms) in a pump and the development of a synergistic wear model that includes pump operating and environmental conditions as trigger factors of wear modes. An experimental program was designed to evaluate the cavitation, adhesion, and corrosion wear effects in conjunction with the abrasive wear produced in a pump by measuring wear debris, particle size and gravimetric levels of fluid. The generation of wear was traced to different pump locations. The results obtained here suggest that improved pump design and longer pump service life can be obtained when synergisms between failure modes are properly understood.

This paper discusses the off-road performance prediction of military application mini UGVs using terramechanics work deals with the development of performance simulation model for mini UGV in the Matlab/Simulink Software. Transient forward vehicle propulsion model and soil terrain interaction model have been built in the Simulink® software. It is a semi-empirical mobility model which predicts mini UGV performance on given terrain. The interaction between vehicle and the terrain causes resistances to vehicle propulsion. The model calculates these resistances, compares them to both the power limitations of the vehicle and the tractive limitations of the soil/terrain, to determine if the vehicle is immobilized. If not, then the vehicle speed is calculated based on available drawbar pull. The terrain is defined in terms of the soil parameters measured by the Bevameter. Semi-empirical equations suggested by Bekker have been used to model the soil terrain interaction.

The design complexity of today's vehicles places tougher demands on the electrical interconnection system, particularly within the engine compartment. This paper outlines three areas of product development specifically aimed at improving the performance of such systems. These are: ENVIRONMENTAL SEALING AND PROTECTION of multiple wire splices, wire bundles, and connectors. VEHICLE WIRING, with particular regard to high temperature resistance on critical components such as ABS systems. ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI) PROTECTION via the use of shielded cables, and simple and reliable shield termination/splicing techniques. Together, these new materials and products combine to provide tougher, smaller, higher temperature resistance and environmentally sealed electrical interconnection systems.

There have been many studies regarding the stability of vehicles following a sudden air loss event in a tire. Previous works have included literature reviews, full-scale vehicle testing, and computer modeling analyses. Some works have validated physics-based computer vehicle simulation models for passenger vehicles and other works have validated models for heavy commercial vehicles. This work describes a study wherein a validated vehicle dynamics computer model has been applied to extrapolate results to higher event speeds that are consistent with travel speeds on contemporary North American highways. This work applies previously validated vehicle dynamics models to study the stability of a five-axle commercial tractor-semitrailer vehicle following a sudden air loss event for a steer axle tire. Further, the work endeavors to understand the analytical tire model for tires that experience a sudden air loss.

The implementation of an advanced process for the aerodynamic development of cab-over type heavy trucks at China FAW Group Corporation (FAW) requires a rigorous validation of the tools employed in this process. The final objective of the aerodynamic optimization of a heavy truck is the reduction of the fuel consumption. The aerodynamic drag of a heavy truck contributes up to 50% of the overall resistance and thus fuel consumption. An accurate prediction of the aerodynamic drag under real world driving conditions is therefore very important. Tools used for the aerodynamic development of heavy trucks include Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), wind tunnels and track and road testing methods. CFD and wind tunnels are of particular importance in the early phase development.

Connectivity and automation provide the potential to use information about the environment and future driving to minimize energy consumption. Aerodynamic drag can also be reduced by close-gap platooning using information from vehicle-to-vehicle communications. In order to achieve these goals, the designers of control strategies need to simulate a wide range of driving situations in which vehicles interact with other vehicles and the infrastructure in a closed-loop fashion. RoadRunner is a new model-based system engineering platform based on Autonomie software, which can collectively provide the necessary tools to predict energy consumption for various driving decisions and scenarios such as car-following, free-flow, or eco-approach driving, and thereby can help in developing control algorithms.

Despite the recent broadening of acceptable test methods for certifying aerodynamic performance, there has been little attention on how to determine the time averaging window used for providing mean forces. This is of particular relevance to the assessment of commercial vehicles as they are significantly affected by low-frequency patterns that are hard to predict and vary with different geometry configurations. Published guidelines in the industry suggest that good engineering judgement be used and a qualitative assessment of force histories is adequate. These suggested methods leave the accuracy of the time averaging to the experience and judgement of the user and is highly dependent on the specific characteristics of the benchmark case. Furthermore these methods are not able to quantify the error present due to motions slower than length of the sampled data.

The compression, combustion, and expansion portions of a two-stroke cycle, direct methanol injection engine was simulated using the CONCHAS-Spray computer code. The input and comparison data was supplied from a Detroit Diesel Allison production engine operating on methanol fuel. Calculated values of both cranking and firing chamber pressure were lower than reported from the engine. The injected fuel did not entirely evaporate which caused regions of fuel impinging on the cylinder walls and piston face. The simulation did predict the formation and accumulation of formaldehyde in the regions of unburned fuel and is consistent with the theory that the formaldehyde does not readily decompose at low temperatures and forms from the incomplete oxidation of the fuel.

The prediction in the design phase of the stability of ground vehicles subject to transient crosswinds become of increased concern with drag reduced shapes, lighter vehicles as well as platooning. The objective of this work is to assess the order of model complexity needed in numerical simulations to capture the behavior of a ground vehicle passing through a transient crosswind. The performance of a full-dynamic coupling between aerodynamic and vehicle dynamic simulations, including a driver model, is evaluated. In the simulations a feedback from the vehicle dynamics into the aerodynamic simulation is performed in every time step. In the work, both the vehicle dynamic response and the aerodynamic forces and moments are studied. The results are compared to a static coupling approach on a set of different vehicle geometries. Five car-type geometries and one simplified bus geometry are evaluated.

A heavy truck wind tunnel test program is currently underway at the Langley Full Scale Tunnel (LFST). Seven passive drag reducing device configurations have been evaluated on a heavy truck model with the objective of understanding the practical limits to drag reduction achievable on a modern tractor trailer through add-on devices. The configurations tested include side skirts of varying length, a full gap seal, and tapered rear panels. All configurations were evaluated over a nominal 15 degree yaw sweep to establish wind averaged drag coefficients over a broad speed range using SAE J1252. The tests were conducted by first quantifying the benefit of each individual treatment and finally looking at the combined benefit of an ideal fully treated vehicle. Results show a maximum achievable gain in wind averaged drag coefficient (65 mph) of about 31 percent for the modern conventional-cab tractor-trailer.

This document describes a rigorous engineering test procedure that utilizes industry-accepted data collection and statistical analysis methods to determine the road load and to estimate the aerodynamic drag area of trucks and buses weighing more than 10000 pounds. The test procedure may be conducted on a test track or on a public road under controlled conditions and supported by extensive data collection and data analysis constraints. The estimated aerodynamic-drag-area result represents a single-speed and single-yaw-angle condition. Test results that do not rigorously follow the method described herein shall not be represented as an SAE J2978 result.

This SAE J2971 Recommended Practice describes a standard naming convention of aerodynamic devices and technologies used to control aerodynamic forces on truck and buses weighing more than 10000 pounds (including trailers).

This SAE J2971 Recommended Practice Truck and Bus Aerodynamic Device Terminology document describes a standard naming convention of aerodynamic devices and technologies used to control aerodynamic forces on truck and buses weighing more than 10,000 pounds (including trailers).

This paper conducts numerical simulation and wind tunnel testing to demonstrate the passive flow control jet boat tail (JBT) drag reduction technique for a heavy duty truck rear view mirror. The JBT passive flow control technique is to introduce a flow jet by opening an inlet in the front of a bluff body, accelerate the jet via a converging duct and eject the jet at an angle toward the center of the base surface. The high speed jet flow entrains the free stream flow to energize the base flow, increase the base pressure, reduces the wake size, and thus reduce the drag. A baseline heavy duty truck rear view mirror is used as reference. The mirror is then redesigned to include the JBT feature without violating any of the variable mirror position geometric constraints and internal control system volume requirement. The wind tunnel testing was conducted at various flow speed and yaw angles.

Road test methods are described by means of which the total drag force, the air drag force, the tire drag force, and other drag components of a truck can be measured. The road tests consist of coastdown experiments over a wide speed range at several loads. Independent measurements of tire drag force and air drag force demonstrate that these road data are essentially correct. Examples of results of the road test method are shown for a few large transport trucks.