PACCAR

Side Extender "Flapping" Issue

Fairings and extenders are commonly used on big rigs to reduce drag and improve performance but can be affected by the wind in ways that lead to undesirable levels of flapping. The student team worked to explore the wind effect on cab/sleeper extenders using a Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis method to form predictions. This project started two years ago with a student team performing a combination of CFD and FEA on a side extender CAD model. This year’s student team validated the previous team's results in the wind tunnel, picked up where the previous team left off, and worked to create an analysis method that the PACCAR Technical Center can use for future predictions.