Draft turbulence reduction system and method
OwnerDavid Connorsinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is a system and method for reducing the amount of drag experiences by a moving vehicle as the result of primary airflow across vehicle body edges by introducing a secondary airflow at said edge to reduce the negative pressure created by such an edge such that the turbulence caused by the primary airflow is prevented or reduced.
Claims17
A system for reducing the drag resulting at a trailing edge of a vehicle from the turbulence of the vehicle moving through the air, the system comprising:
- a plurality of channels, arranged along at least a top surface of the vehicle, to receive airflow at a leading edge of the vehicle, contain the airflow along the length of the vehicle and discharge the airflow along the trailing edge of the vehicle, each said channel having an annular cross-section.
A method of improving the performance of a vehicle comprising the steps of:
- directing an airflow caused by motion of the vehicle, along at least a top surface of the vehicle, through a plurality of channels, each said channel having an annular cross-section that contains the airflow from a leading edge of the vehicle to a trailing edge of the vehicle.
A system reducing the drag at a trailing edge of a tractor trailer resulting from the turbulence, the system comprising:
- a plurality of channels, each said channel having an annular cross-section, arranged along a top surface and along each of the side surfaces of the tractor trailer, to receive airflow at a leading edge of the tractor trailer and discharge the airflow along the trailing edge of the tractor trailer, wherein the channels are oriented normal to the leading edge with the channels;
- at least one valve adapted to control the airflow through the channels;
- and
- a controller in communication with the at least one valve, the controller configured to receive velocity information and control the at least one value to result in an airflow that is proportional to the received vehicle information.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.