Technical Paper
An Integrated CFD and Truck Simulation for 4 Vehicle Platoons
2018-04-03
2018-01-0797
A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study was conducted on four-vehicle platoons, and the aerodynamic data is then coupled with a high-fidelity truck simulation software (TruckSim) to determine fuel efficiency. Previous studies typically have focused on identical two vehicle platoons, whereas this study accounted for more complex platoon configurations. Heavy duty vehicles (HDVs), both military and commercial, make up a significant percentage of fuel consumption. This study aimed to quantify fuel savings of a platoon consisting of dissimilar trucks and trailers, thus reducing vehicle operational cost. The vehicle platoon featured two M915 trucks and two Peterbilt 579 trucks with dissimilar trailer configurations. An unloaded flatbed trailer, a centered 20 ft shipping container, two 20 ft shipping containers, and a 53 ft box trailer configurations were utilized.
