Segmented Aerodynamic Skirts for Flatbed Trailer Drag Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional skirt designs for heavy-duty vehicles trap airflow, leading to increased drag and susceptibility to damage from impacts, while existing skirt systems fail to effectively reduce drag and are prone to damage.
Innovation Solution
A multi-panel skirt system with forward and aft skirt panels installed on the cargo enclosure, featuring compound lateral profiles and strategic gaps to create vortexes and air vents, reducing drag by guiding airflow away from rear wheels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a continuous skirt profile is used to block airflow, then drag reduction is achieved, but the skirt traps airflow between opposed skirts which increases drag and the skirt is more susceptible to damage from impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous skirt is divided into multiple separate panels (first panel, second panel, third panel, fourth panel) arranged in a segmented pattern. This segmentation allows the skirt to remain effective at blocking airflow while the gaps between panels prevent air trapping and reduce susceptibility to damage from impacts.
2Loss of energy
If a continuous skirt profile is used to prevent airflow contact with rear wheels, then drag is reduced, but cross-flow trapped between opposed skirts is directed towards rear wheels increasing drag
Solution Approach 1:
The skirt is segmented into multiple panels with intentional gaps between them. These gaps allow trapped cross-flow to escape laterally rather than being directed towards the rear wheels, eliminating the harmful effect of air trapping while maintaining the drag-reducing blockage of the skirt.
3Device complexity
If a single continuous panel is used for the skirt, then the structure is simple, but the skirt is prone to damage from impacts with travel surface or impediments
Solution Approach 1:
The skirt structure is divided into multiple independent panels rather than a single continuous piece. This segmentation reduces the likelihood of catastrophic failure from impacts, as damage to one panel does not compromise the entire skirt system, while still maintaining the overall aerodynamic function.
4Reliability
If segmented panels are used to reduce drag and improve reliability, then the skirt system becomes more complex, but this complexity is necessary to resolve the technical contradictions
Solution Approach 1:
The skirt is implemented as a segmented system of multiple panels arranged in a specific pattern around the cargo enclosure. While this increases structural complexity compared to a single panel, it resolves the technical contradictions by preventing air trapping and improving damage resistance while maintaining drag reduction effectiveness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The multi-panel skirt system significantly reduces drag on cargo enclosures by creating vortexes and expelling airflow, enhancing fuel efficiency and minimizing damage from impacts.
Implementation Method 1
featuring compound lateral profiles and strategic gaps to create vortexes and air vents, reducing drag by guiding airflow away from rear wheels
Implementation Method 2
The skirt is generally designed to substantially block an airflow from flowing underneath the trailer, thereby preventing high energy air from contacting the rear wheels and causing a significant amount of drag on the vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-panel skirt system for a flatbed includes two pair of forward and aft skirt panels with each pair located on an opposite lateral sides of the flatbed. In each pair, the forward skirt panel extends along the lateral side edge generally in the lengthwise direction between a leading edge and a trailing edge, which is located adjacent to and aligned with or positioned laterally inboard of the lateral side edge of the flatbed. An aft skirt panel extends along the lateral side edge generally in the lengthwise direction between a leading edge and a trailing edge aft of the forward skirt panel, which trailing edge is located adjacent to and aligned with or positioned laterally inboard of the lateral side edge. The leading edge of the aft skirt panel is positioned laterally inboard of the trailing edge of the forward skirt panel.