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A Rapid Duct Development and Diagnostic airflow simulation Tool (R3DT) has been developed that allows computational fluid dynamics (CFD) airflow simulations to be performed on complex three-dimensional (3D) Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) ducts quickly, easily and cost effectively. R3DT is a very automated approach to performing grid generation and CFD. It draws upon the strengths of the tools of ICEM CFD Engineering to create a fully tetrahedral mesh for complicated air duct geometries based on the original CAD data. It also uses FLUENT™ as the tetrahedral CFD solver. R3DT enables designers to make informed design decisions based on the predicted performance of their duct designs early in the development process, with the data still in CAD format. The concepts behind R3DT, as well as its application to a series of three-dimensional ducts with varying levels of geometrical complexity will be presented.

Electroluminescent (EL) displays are well known for their superior visual performance (brightness and contrast) and environmental performance (durability) characteristics. These characteristics contributed to Freightliner Corporation's selection of Planar Systems, Inc. to build a custom electroluminescent display that measures 80 pixels in height and 320 pixels in width for their Truck Productivity Computer. The Truck Productivity Computer is an open-platform information, communication, and integration system that fits in a standard (DIN 1) radio slot in a truck dashboard. When compared to most conventional in-vehicle displays, the emissive EL technology offers increased brightness and contrast ratio. Considering these advantages and the type of information to be displayed, traditional human factors display guidelines, based primarily on other display types, were thought to be unsuitable for recommending character height for this display.