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Freightliner LLC has opened an advanced transportation research facility to study the aerodynamics of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Located near the company's headquarters in Portland, Ore., the new Freightliner wind tunnel, which went online in late spring, can accommodate a full-sized heavy-duty truck. Over the coming years, the Freightliner Group will use data and experience from the wind tunnel testing to refine the aerodynamics on its trucks with the overall objective of reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

"The new wind tunnel facility is an example of Freightliner's continuing focus on technological leadership in the truck manufacturing industry," said Rainer Schmueckle, president and CEO of Freightliner LLC. "The wind tunnel will help us make further gains in aerodynamics and fuel efficiency, which will ultimately lower operating costs for our customers.

"By designing more fuel-efficient vehicles with the help of this new tool, we will also contribute to the goal of environmental protection."

The 12,000 sq.ft. wind tunnel facility will allow for a uniform, repeatable airflow over the vehicle being tested. This will enable Freightliner engineers to collect comprehensive data on airflow and aerodynamic performance. Sensors provide information regarding wind load and surface pressures on the vehicle as a whole and for specific parts. Non-toxic fog provides airflow visualization and qualitative data regarding localized airflow. A sophisticated instrumentation system is employed to operate the wind tunnel, monitor ambient conditions and record aerodynamic data.

That instrumentation system was an especially challenging aspect of the wind tunnel development for Freightliner. Some of the technical hurdles included:

* The problem of acquiring meaningful, repeatable data about the test subject in the wind runnel including drag measurements and specific pressure measurements. This is a challenge in any wind tunnel because of the requirement to be able to identify and document very small changes in data while making very subtle changes to the test subject.

* The challenge of operating an open circuit wind tunnel that is subject to influence from whatever the outside weather conditions that happen at operating time. This requires the documentation of conditions and the ability to then correlate them with a standard set of conditions.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:20 AM