Truck Platoon Slipstream Effects Assessment

With the increase of stringent emission standards and higher road transportation cycles in the last few decades, the importance of transport and fuel efficiency plays a major role. The aerodynamic forces on trucks have a huge impact of the overall fuel consumption rate. For a 40 tonnes semi-trailer truck at 85 km/h on a flat highway, around 40% of the provided engine power is needed to overcome the air resistance (Hucho in Aerodynamik des Automobils. Vieweg + Teubner, Wiesbaden, [1]). An efficient way to reduce the aerodynamic drag of trucks is to build a platoon of trucks. To assess the potential of a truck platoon due to slipstream effect, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were conducted. The simulations were performed for a platoon with three trucks for different constant velocities at different inter-vehicle distances. The results are summarised in a normalised drag coefficient and fuel reduction map. As a limiting factor of platooning, the thermal management aspect must be considered, because the slipstream reduces the air mass flow through the engine compartment. This aspect of reduced air mass flow through the engine compartment was analysed as well.