KUHLGREEN

A boat tail, a tapered extension on the back of a truck, provides a fuel savings of 7.5 percent. This is because the aerodynamics significantly improves, according to road tests of the collaboration platform PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport).

Public road
A boat tail is a tapered extension on the back of a truck with a length of about two meters. The boat tail had during wind tunnel experiments and computer simulations, both performed at TU Delft, in theory and proven at scale. Now is a combination equipped with a boat tail, also tested on the road.

Emission
A truck drove one years combined with long tail boat (of variable length) and one years without a long tail boat. The improved aerodynamics caused, depending on the length of the boat tail, for fuel (and emissions!) Up 7.5 percent. A boat-tail length of two meters was optimum.

PART
The tests were conducted by PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport). This is a platform where scientists, manufacturers of road funds and carriers and shippers together. The platform aims to reduce fuel consumption in road transport by improving the aerodynamics. PART has the ambition to 20 percent less fuel consumption and CO2 emissions to achieve within the road in 2020. PART secretary of the TU Delft. PART road tests conducted earlier on a new generation of aerodynamic side wings later this year will make their commercial debut.

Innovation Relay
PART is on Wednesday 4 and Thursday, November 5 at the Innovation Relay at Air Station Valkenburg. During the Innovation Relay present government, industry and knowledge institutions and the latest innovative developments in sustainable water, transportation and mobility.



About PART, see www.part20.eu

On the side wings, see www.ephicas.eu

Source: TU Delft