Optimization of Trailer Boat Tail using Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Transtex Composite is pioneer manufacturer and designer of aerodynamic devices for the transportation**industry. Currently, the company has focused on the design and manufacturing of trailer side skirts and boat**tails to reduce the underneath and rear drag force on trailers. The preliminary model of the boat tail is designed**using the wind tunnel test results. However, improving their product and finalizing its design need more**experimental results. The wind tunnel experiment is costly, and it cannot provide all details of flow around the**boat tail. Other types of flow visualization techniques cannot be used to study the flow over a moving truck**especially in the actual scale. Therefore, utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling is proposed**for the company to simulate the flow around a moving truck-trailer with a boat tail. Working on the**aerodynamic improvement of different truck bodies has been the focus of various research groups in the**automotive industries [1-3]. This effort has identified drag producing flow structures around heavy vehicles**and designed different add-on devices to reduce drag and improve the road fuel economy [4,5]. The drag force**can be reduced by modifying the rear end of the trailer and manipulate the near wakes. Boat tails are the**devices that can be used in this regard [6-8]. Various studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of**boat tail on reducing aerodynamic drag on the trailer [9, 10]. However, information regarding the flow behavior**around the boat tail especially in real scale is limited [11]. In this research, a set of CFD simulations will be**conducted to calculate the critical forces on the boat tail. Base on the CFD results, the performance of the**preliminary Transtex boat tail will be evaluated, and recommendations and suggestions will be provided to the**Transtex R&D team to improve their products. Also, the results of this research will be utilized as input for**Finite Element Analysis of the boat tail components such as joints and connections. The amount of fuel which**is used by a track to transfer between two points in Canada can be reduced dramatically when the drag**reduction facilities attached to trailers and consequently CO2 emission will be cut up to 8% in long distances.