A wind tunnel investigation into the effects of roof curvature on the aerodynamic drag experienced by a light goods vehicle

Abstract

Roof curvature is used to increase ground vehicle camber and enhance rear-body boat-tailing to reduce aerodynamic drag. Little aerodynamic data is published for light goods vehicles (LGVs) which account for a significant proportion of annual UK licensed vehicle miles. This paper details scale wind tunnel measurements at Re = 1.6 x 10 6 of a generic LGV utilising interchangeable roof panels to investigate the effects of curved roof profile on aerodynamic drag at simulated crosswinds between-6°and 16°. Optimum magnitudes of roof profile depth and axial location are suggested and the limited dataset indicates that increasing roof curvature is effective in reducing drag over a large yaw range, compared to a flat roof profile. This is primarily due to increased base pressure, possibly from enhanced mixing of longitudinal vortices shed from the rear-body upper side edges and increased turbulent mixing in the nearwake due to the increased effective boat-tail angle.

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