Apparatus And Method For Reducing Drag Of A Bluff Body In Ground Effect Using Counter-Rotating Vortex Pairs
- Pacifica, CA
- Livermore, CA
An aerodynamic base drag reduction apparatus and method for bluff bodies, such as tractor-trailer trucks, utilizing a pair of lift surfaces extending to lift surface tips and located alongside the bluff body such as on opposing left and right side surfaces. In a flowstream substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the bluff body, the pair of lift surfaces generate a pair of counter-rotating trailing vortices which confluence together in the wake of the bluff body in a direction orthogonal to the flowstream. The confluence draws or otherwise turns the flowstream, such as the flowstream passing over a top surface of the bluff body, in and around behind a trailing end of the bluff body to raise the pressure on a base surface at the trailing end and thereby reduce the aerodynamic base drag.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- Assignee:
- The Regents of the University of California (Oakland, CA)
- Patent Number(s):
- US 6926345
- Application Number:
- 10/668812
- OSTI ID:
- 880194
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Boattail Plates With Non-Rectangular Geometries For Reducing Aerodynamic Base Drag Of A Bluff Body In Ground Effect
Aerodynamic drag reduction apparatus for gap-divided bluff bodies such as tractor-trailers