Now Bringing True Aerodynamic Innovation to the Trucking Industry!
NULL WINDS Technology is now bringing our patented method for minimizing vehicle drag to the trucking industry. New Upper Wheel Deflector Panels shield only the most critical uppermost portion of the rear wheel on LTL delivery trucks and semitrailers to save fuel. And class 6 box truck drivers have even reported a noticeably smoother and faster pull up long hills.
As taught by our numerous patents, open-wheeled vehicles (like most cargo trucks) needlessly waste fuel. Exposing the much faster forward-moving uppermost portion of the wheel directly to oncoming headwinds simply wastes fuel. Instead, only the very top portion of the wheel should be shielded from headwinds.
Being exposed to wind speeds often exceeding twice the vehicle speed, this critical drag-inducing top portion of the wheel dissipates far more energy in drag (typically more than 8X) than is commonly understood. And it must be shielded from oncoming headwinds in order to minimize vehicle wheel drag.
However, many vehicles already covering lower portions of the wheel also waste fuel, since in order to actually minimize vehicle drag lower wheel portions should remain exposed to headwinds. The lower wheel actually quite easily pushes air out of the way. (Think rolling against lower headwinds being almost equivalent and as easy as rolling over bumps in the road.)
Since the lower wheel more easily diverts headwinds than any faster-moving fairing panel attached to the vehicle frame, the highly drag-advantaged lower wheel portions should remain exposed to oncoming headwinds. (Yes, Formula One actually has it backwards. But they must 'look' fast.)
Being the first to recognize these non-obvious drag-mechanics for vehicles has resulted in numerous patents since 2017 (more than 15 issued to date), including the very first utility patent for a simple upper wheel fender (AERODEFENDER), as well our Upper Wheel Deflector Panel, Inner Wheel Skirt, Upper Wheel Side Skirt and Laterally Inset Trailer Skirt inventions.
Slanted outward at a 45° angle directly in front of the rear wheel on class 6 box trucks or on semitrailers, our simple economical Upper Wheel Deflector panels divert headwinds to flow laterally outside and around the much faster upper wheel surfaces that move forward directly against the oncoming headwinds at up to twice the vehicle speed.
Extensive road testing has also shown that expanding panel shielding surfaces even slightly below this critical uppermost portion of the wheel quickly becomes counterproductive, largely eliminating most of the fuel saving potential of our optimally sized deflector panels.
A few featured products are listed immediately below.
And interested engineers might want to check out our detailed Aero Technology Discussions, explaining the physics of this technology, being increasingly effective when facing punishing headwinds in windy conditions.
