Drag Forces Experienced by 2, 3 and 4-Vehicle Platoons at Close Spacings 950632
Drag measurements are made on each of the members of 2, 3 & 4-vehicle platoons. One-eighth scale vehicle models are used in a wind tunnel equipped with a suction surface ground plane for boundary layer control. Strong interaction between vehicles takes place for spacings less than one vehicle length, leading to drag values substantially lower than for an isolated vehicle. All vehicles in the platoon experience lower drag. The average drag coefficient for a 4-vehicle platoon at a nominal spacing of 0.2 vehicle lengths is just 56 percent of the drag of the vehicle in isolation. It is also concluded that little additional benefit is achieved by forming platoons longer than 6-7 vehicles. Finally, the 2-vehicle platoons are operated in different orientations-front-to-front, back-to-back and reversed-to provide an estimate for drag reduction sensitivity to vehicle shape.
Citation: Zabat, M., Stabile, N., Frascaroli, S., and Browand, F., "Drag Forces Experienced by 2, 3 and 4-Vehicle Platoons at Close Spacings," SAE Technical Paper 950632, 1995, https://doi.org/10.4271/950632. Download Citation
Author(s):
Michael Zabat, Nick Stabile, Stefano Frascaroli, Fred Browand
Affiliated:
University of Southern California
Pages: 11
Event:
International Congress & Exposition
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Also in:
Investigations Into Vehicle Aerodynamics-SP-1078, SAE 1995 Transactions: Journal of Passenger Cars-V104-6
Related Topics:
Scale models
Drag
Wind tunnel tests
Platooning
Forming
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