COMPARISONS OF EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE DEVICES FOR THE REDUCTION OF AERODYNAMIC DRAG ON TRACTOR-TRAILERS

Wind tunnel experiments, with emphasis on cross-wind effects, have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of a number of commercially available devices for reducing the aerodynamic drag of a tractor-trailer combination. The evaluations included consideration of the effects of tractor type, trailer height, and the bluffness of the tractors and/or trailers. A wind-averaged drag coefficient was introduced to interpret the basic data for the prediction of average drag in a highway environment. The average drag of the baseline vehicles was found to be a strong function of the bluffness of the tractor and/or trailer, and a weak function of the tractor type. Estimates of the average fuel savings that would result from the application of the various drag reducing devices ranged from -400 to 3300 gallons per 100,000 miles, depending on the combination of tractor, trailer and device that is used. /GMRL/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at a meeting held August 11-14, 1975.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Buckley Jr, F T
  • Sekscienski, W S
• Publication Date: 1975-8

Media Info

• Pagination: 11 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aerodynamics; Air resistance; Chemical reduction; Crosswinds; Drag; Equipment; Fuel consumption; Intermodal transportation; Measures of effectiveness; Tractor trailer combinations; Trailers; Vehicle design; Wind; Wind tunnels
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness
• Old TRIS Terms: Reduction
• Subject Areas: Design; Energy; Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00130774
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE #750704
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 21 1976 12:00AM