The focus of Engineering Conferences International will be the research in, development of, and application of advanced computational and experimental methods for the aerodynamic analysis and design of trucks, buses, and trains. Of specific interest are computations and experiments that lead to a better physical understanding of the flow phenomena and optimization of the vehicle design. For example, the aerodynamics of a train moving in a tunnel is very different from those moving in open air. For the comfort of passengers and the control of noise to the environment it is important to understand the entrance generation, propagation, and exit reflection of the pressure wave generated by the moving train.

As a second example, the drag on a heavy vehicle is dependent upon the length of the gap between tractor and trailer (or between two trailers), upon the presence and length of tractor side extenders and upon the direction of the relative wind (flow yaw angle). The nature of this sensitivity involves multi-modal complex flow separation and reattachment in the vicinity of the gap. Finally, control of the trailer base pressure for a truck can have a significant effect on vehicle drag. Fundamental understanding of the flow physics is extremely important for the improvement of present day design efforts for trucks, buses and trains.

Tags: engineering conferences international, heavy vehicle, bus, truck, transport