Reduction of fuel consumption in road freight vehicles: A numerical and analytical approach

Abstract

Brazil, according to regulatory bodies in the country, has 1,584,402 km of highway, far superior numbers to 30,129 kilometers of rail tracks and 20,956 km of waterways used economically. Given the importance of road transport modal for the country, minimization of the need for inputs into its operations has significant impacts. Between inputs necessary for the operation of this mode of transport fuel, due to the increasing cost and significant environmental impact it causes, it is a frequent target of interest. This paper analyzes by computational fluid dynamics the impact of vehicle air deflectors in aerodynamic drag and computes, through analytical method, the impact of drag reductions in fuel consumption. Simulations using the three-dimensional turbulence model SST k-ω result in 36% reduction in aerodynamic drag which causes reductions in consumption that depends on the total load of the vehicle, varying between 33% and 35% for total loads between 10 and 20 tones.