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Journal Article

Effect of the Frontal Edge Radius in a Platoon of Bluff Bodies

2016-09-27
2016-01-8149
This paper investigates the effect of the frontal edge radius of the Generalized European Transport System (GETS) model on the aerodynamic behavior of three different vehicles in a platoon. Due to the increasing awareness around harmful gases and depleting oil sources, more sustainable transport systems are needed. The efficiency of long-haul, heavy-duty vehicles can be increased by driving in platoon formation in order to decrease aerodynamic drag and to increase fuel mileage. The drag behavior of drafting vehicles is already studied but differences in aerodynamic drag reductions occur on the trailing vehicle. Some studies indicate a drag increase while others predict a drag decrease. In this study, a numerical investigation was performed solving Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the aid of a commercial package. Four different inter-vehicle distances were tested for the vehicles with several different frontal edge radii.
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