Proceedings of the 2025 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Intelligent Control (EEIC 2025)

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Study on Aerodynamic Optimisation of Medium-Duty Trucks: Drag Control and Fuel Efficiency Improvement

Authors
Ruiqi Wang1, *
1Brown School of Engineering, Brown University Providence, Rhode Island, USA
*Corresponding author. Email: ruiqi_wang3@brown.edu
Corresponding Author
Ruiqi Wang
Available Online 23 October 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-864-6_76How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Medium-Duty Trucks; Aerodynamics; Drag Reduction; Fuel Efficiency; Computational Fluid Dynamics
Abstract

Medium-duty trucks play a critical role in regional and urban transportation, but their aerodynamic inefficiency leads to high drag and fuel consumption. This paper investigates strategies to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve fuel efficiency for medium-duty trucks. We first review the fundamental aerodynamic principles governing truck drag, including the importance of drag coefficient, flow separation and wake formation, and the influence of factors such as vehicle shape and crosswinds. Next, we discuss modern aerodynamic optimisation approaches, encompassing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, wind tunnel experiments, on-road testing, and the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) for design optimisation. Several case studies are analysed, highlighting practical improvements such as streamlined cab designs, roof-mounted air deflectors, side skirts, rear drag-reduction devices, and modifications to wheels and underbody. These measures demonstrate significant drag reduction and corresponding fuel savings. Finally, we conclude with an outlook on future trends, including real-time adaptive aerodynamic control systems and AI-driven aerodynamic design, aiming for further drag reduction and fuel economy gains in medium-duty trucks.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Intelligent Control (EEIC 2025)
Series
Advances in Engineering Research
Publication Date
23 October 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-864-6
ISSN
2352-5401
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-864-6_76How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Ruiqi Wang
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/23
TI  - Study on Aerodynamic Optimisation of Medium-Duty Trucks: Drag Control and Fuel Efficiency Improvement
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Intelligent Control (EEIC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 876
EP  - 885
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-864-6_76
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-864-6_76
ID  - Wang2025
ER  -