Open Access
ARTICLE
Computational Simulation of Turbulent Flow Around Tractor-Trailers
D. O. Redchyts1, E. A. Shkvar2, *, S. V. Moiseienko3
1 Institute of Transport Systems and Technologies of Ukrainian National Academy of Science, Dnipro, 49005,
Ukraine.
2 College of Engineering, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China.
3 Kherson National Technical University, Kherson, 73008, Ukraine.
* Corresponding Author: Eugene Shkvar. Email: .
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Train Aerodynamics)
Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2020, 16(1), 91-103. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2020.07933
Received 12 July 2019; Accepted 21 October 2019; Issue published 01 February 2020
Abstract
A method to evaluate the properties of turbulent flow in proximity to the vehicle
and close to the ground surface has been elaborated. Numerical simulations have been
performed on the basis of the Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations
(URANS) written with respect to an arbitrary curvilinear coordinate system. These
equations have been solved using the Spalart-Allmaras differential one-parametric
turbulence model. The method of artificial compressibility has been used to improve the
coupling of pressure and velocity in the framework of a finite volume approach. Time-averaged distributions of pressure fields, velocity components, streamlines in the entire area
and near the tractor-trailer, as well as integral and distributed characteristic parameters
(such as coefficients of pressure, friction and drag force) are presented. According to our
results, the turbulent flow accelerates in the area of the tractor cabin and in the gap between
surfaces. Above the driver’s cabin, a pressure drop occurs due to a sharp acceleration of
flow in this area. Downstream, pressure is restored and becomes almost constant in
proximity to the edge of the trailer. The dimensions of the separation area exceed the length
of the transport system several times. Though agreement with experimental results is
relatively limited due to the two-dimensional nature of the numerical simulations, the
present approach succeeds in identifying the main physical effects involved in the
considered dynamics. It might be used in future studies for initial approximate assessments
of the influence of the vehicle shape on its aerodynamic characteristics.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Redchyts, D. O., Shkvar, E. A., Moiseienko, S. V. (2020). Computational Simulation of Turbulent Flow Around Tractor-Trailers.
FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, 16(1), 91–103.
Citations