A 1/20 scale wind tunnel program and road test utilizing small and heavy duty trucks were performed to evaluate the effectiveness to the S3 Airvanes in reducing air drag and improving energy efficiency of cargo vehicles. A 38 percent drag reduction was obtained in the tunnel test and it was found that the optimum location of the airvanes could be qualitatively determined from model tuft studies. An 8000-mile freeway test program utilizing the S3 air vane configurations demonstrated increases in fuel economy from 9.2 to 26.5 percent.
Abstract