Numerical investigation of an inflatable aerodynamic boattail for tractor-trailers

Aerodynamic drag accounts for a considerable percentage of fuel consumption in commercial cargo handlers. Various experimental and computational studies were done by several researchers to find methods to reduce the drag. Front vehicle shape and the rear vehicle side modifications are suggested by various researchers over the years. The rear side optimization has generated a considerable interest among the experimental and computational aerodynamists. Fixing an inflatable boattail to the rear end of tractor trailers has been the widely used technique by fluid dynamists to reduce the drag caused by the pressure drop in the rear end.

The current study focuses on finding an optimal boattail shape using CFD techniques. Both Upwind differencing and the QUICK were used formulation with the SIMPLE algorithm to calculate the flow field around the tractor-trailer. The drag coefficients were compared with the available experimental data. The QUICK formulation closely followed the experimental values.