A CFD Study Investigating Drag Reduction for Different Offset and Inline Distance for Two Trucks Platooning

The automotive industry invests huge resources to improve fuel consumption of commercial vehicles by improving their aerodynamic efficiency. Recently, numerous studies investigating the effect of platooning on aerodynamic drag of semi-trucks have been performed by researchers indicating a positive impact. For the present study, a three-dimensional computational study was performed to investigate the effect of varying offset and linear distance during platooning on the total drag of two semi-trucks. The study was conducted on a full-scale model using Reynold’s Averaged Navier-Strokes governing equations for a moving ground simulation using the STAR-CCM+ computational package. Furthermore, for turbulence, the standard k-ω SST turbulence model was used for a constant free stream velocity of 70 mph. A baseline study on a full-scale model of a single semi-truck was conducted to compare the results from platooning. Initial findings showed that the inline platooning situation was optimal for drag reduction. However, drag reduction varied with varying offset distances. Drag reduction decreased as the offset distance increased.