Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Aerodynamic Ventilation Drag of Heavy-Duty Vehicle Wheels

Abstract

Due to current EU regulations, constant-speed testing on test tracks is used for aerodynamic certification of heavy-duty vehicles (HDV). However, the aerodynamic development of HDVs is performed using wind tunnels and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Both techniques commonly neglect the rotational aerodynamic losses of the wheels—the so-called ventilation drag—that are present when driving on the road. This is due to the fact that there is no full-scale wind tunnel for this type of vehicle with a suitable belt system for the simulation of the wheel rotation. Furthermore, the ventilation drag of HDV wheels has been neglected in CFD due to their almost completely closed rim design. These constraints lead to an underprediction of the aerodynamic forces in comparison to the results under on-road conditions when performing constant-speed tests. In order to investigate the ventilation drag of HDV wheels, measurements were carried out on a 1:4.5 scale generic tractor-trailer model in the Model Scale Wind Tunnel of the University of Stuttgart. The measured aerodynamic forces as well as the measured flow field data provide the basis for the definition and validation of a procedure for analyzing the ventilation drag in CFD. Accordingly, the ventilation drag of a full scale HDV was investigated in CFD. The results show that the tire treading and rim geometry have a significant influence on ventilation drag that contributes to the total aerodynamic drag of the HDV. The present work shows that the ventilation drag has a relevant impact on the total aerodynamic drag of HDVs and should therefore not be neglected. The presented CFD approach thus allows to assess the aerodynamic drag under real on-road conditions in an early stage of the vehicle development.