TY - JOUR
T1 - Development of a Novel Characterisation Methodology for the Aerodynamic Coefficients of a Tractor-Trailer Unit based on Relative Flow Angles and Vehicle Dimensions
AU - Malviya, Vihar
AU - Asim, Taimoor
AU - Sendanayake Achchige, Isuru
AU - Mishra, Rakesh
PY - 2018/9/1
Y1 - 2018/9/1
N2 - Tractor-trailer units are integral part of the Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) industry, used globally for goods transportation. Manufacturers have been trying to design aerodynamically efficient tractor-trailer units to reduce ever increasing fuel costs. In order to investigate the aerodynamic response of tractor-trailer units, the aerodynamic forces and moments have to be determined accurately, especially under crosswind conditions. In the present study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based solver has been employed to simulate the flow field around a tractor-trailer with a view to quantify the effects of side wind and size variations on aerodynamic force moment system acting on tractor-trailer combination. It has been shown that the aerodynamic forces are significantly influenced by both the geometrical and flow characteristics. The drag, lift and side forces acting on a tractor-trailer unit are highest at relative flow angles of 15°, 30° and 90° respectively. Aerodynamic forces and coefficients have been enumerated for these geometrical and flow conditions, and have been used to develop novel semi-empirical correlations for the aerodynamic coefficients for the tractor-trailer unit. These correlations have been shown to predict the aerodynamic coefficients for various vehicle dimensions under a range of flow conditions with reasonable accuracy.
AB - Tractor-trailer units are integral part of the Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) industry, used globally for goods transportation. Manufacturers have been trying to design aerodynamically efficient tractor-trailer units to reduce ever increasing fuel costs. In order to investigate the aerodynamic response of tractor-trailer units, the aerodynamic forces and moments have to be determined accurately, especially under crosswind conditions. In the present study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based solver has been employed to simulate the flow field around a tractor-trailer with a view to quantify the effects of side wind and size variations on aerodynamic force moment system acting on tractor-trailer combination. It has been shown that the aerodynamic forces are significantly influenced by both the geometrical and flow characteristics. The drag, lift and side forces acting on a tractor-trailer unit are highest at relative flow angles of 15°, 30° and 90° respectively. Aerodynamic forces and coefficients have been enumerated for these geometrical and flow conditions, and have been used to develop novel semi-empirical correlations for the aerodynamic coefficients for the tractor-trailer unit. These correlations have been shown to predict the aerodynamic coefficients for various vehicle dimensions under a range of flow conditions with reasonable accuracy.
KW - Heavy Commercial Vehicle
KW - HCV
KW - Computational Fluid Dynamics
KW - CFD
KW - Computer Aided Design
KW - CAD
KW - Computer Aided Engineering
KW - CAE
KW - Aerodynamic Coefficients
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051432150&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13369-018-3185-3
DO - 10.1007/s13369-018-3185-3
M3 - Article
VL - 43
SP - 4957
EP - 4975
JO - Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
JF - Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
SN - 1319-8025
IS - 9
ER -