Evaluating Flow Control Methods in Vehicle Platooning and Overtaking

Abstract This numerical study, based on steady RANS simulations, investigates the effects of passive, active, and combined flow control techniques on a simplified vehicle model (Ahmed body) under highway-relevant configurations, including platooning and overtaking, at 70 mph (31.3 m/s). The study primarily focuses on an innovative passive flow control method, Rear Linking Tunnels (RLTs), previously introduced by the authors. It also examines the performance of the Single Dielectric Barrier Discharge Actuator (SDBD) as an active flow control strategy and evaluates its combined effects with RLTs on both the target vehicle and surrounding vehicles during platooning and overtaking maneuvers. The results highlight notable variations in drag and lift coefficients, showing that the effectiveness of these flow control methods differs significantly between platooning/overtaking scenarios and single-vehicle cases.