Open Access

ARTICLE

The Effect of Lateral Offset Distance on the Aerodynamics and Fuel Economy of Vehicle Queues

Lili Lei^*, Ze Li, Haichao Zhou, Jing Wang, Wei Lin

School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

* Corresponding Author: Lili Lei. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2024, 20(1), 147-163. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2023.030158

Received 24 March 2023; Accepted 27 June 2023; Issue published 08 November 2023

Abstract

The vehicle industry is always in search of breakthrough energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies. In recent years, vehicle intelligence has progressed considerably, and researchers are currently trying to take advantage of these developments. Here we consider the case of many vehicles forming a queue, i.e., vehicles traveling at a predetermined speed and distance apart. While the majority of existing studies on this subject have focused on the influence of the longitudinal vehicle spacing, vehicle speed, and the number of vehicles on aerodynamic drag and fuel economy, this study considers the lateral offset distance of the vehicle queue. The group fuel consumption savings rate is calculated and analyzed. As also demonstrated by experimental results, some aerodynamic benefits exist. Moreover, the fuel consumption saving rate of the vehicle queue decreases as the lateral offset distance increases.

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