Computerized dynamic fluid simulation (CFD) for measuring the influence of the cab deflector on the aerodynamics of trucks
This paper refers to how the cab deflector of trucks can influence the aerodynamic coefficient. The first part of the paper includes some generalities taken from previous studies, regarding the types of solutions to improve aerodynamics for trucks. The second part of the paper is a more practical one and has two main chapters: modeling and simulation of modeled parts. In this sense, a truck and 3 cabin deflectors were schematically modeled in Catia v5. After assembly in the Catia v5 program, the impact of the cabin deflector was analyzed. Thus, a computerized dynamic fluid simulation (CFD) was performed using the specific module in Ansys. The simulation included the CFD analysis of the four possible variants: truck without deflector, truck + deflector 1, truck + deflector 2, truck + deflector 3. All mentioned variants were analyzed at 3 different speeds: 50 km / h, 70 km / h and 90 km /. This analysis revealed information on the efficiency of each deflector, the value of the pressure as well as the most affected areas, the value of the turbulent kinetic energy, the value of the drag force and the aerodynamic coefficient.