{"id":22283,"date":"2020-11-22T20:58:47","date_gmt":"2020-11-22T19:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/?p=22283"},"modified":"2020-11-22T21:08:17","modified_gmt":"2020-11-22T20:08:17","slug":"the-galway-energy-efficient-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/the-galway-energy-efficient-car\/","title":{"rendered":"The Galway Energy Efficient Car"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Geec is the first and only Irish team in the world’s top ultra-efficiency competition, and the most energy-efficient car ever built in Ireland.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Galway energy-efficient car, the Geec, is an eco-car designed and built by NUI Galway engineering students. Every year since 2015, they have competed in Shell Eco-marathon Europe<\/a>, a 16-km street-circuit race where the winner is the car that uses the least fuel or energy. This year they are the only Irish team and are down to the last three.<\/p>\n

With an aim to decarbonise road freight transport, the Galway Energy-Efficient Car team identified the aerodynamics of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) as a key area of potential improvement, following the discovery that a large proportion of engine power is required to overcome aerodynamic drag at high speeds.<\/p>\n

Proposing an innovative aerodynamic HGV design, the team tackled a number of key areas of the traditional HGV that could be improved, including:<\/p>\n

Truck face<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recognising that a flatter truck face increases the density of air and subsequently causes drag, the team proposed a curved surface that helps guide air around the truck more effectively.<\/p>\n

Trailer gap<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another area that compromise the aerodynamics of an HGV is the gap between the truck and trailer, because it disrupts airflow and forms a vacuum. To overcome this, the team\u2019s solution is a deflector that opens behind the cab automatically, reducing the gap when at high speed.<\/p>\n

Wheels<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next, the team considered how to improve HGV wheels. Taking inspiration from the dimpled surface of a golf ball, they suggest wheel covers are attached to the rims, which reduce the wake to a greater degree than the smooth surface of traditional tyres.<\/p>\n

Trailer tail<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lastly, the team targeted the trailer tail, recognising that adding a vortex generator could change the flow of the boundary layer by creating turbulence in a similar way to their wheel covers. Placing these at the rear of the truck helps to reduce the overall drag effect.<\/p>\n

You can vote for the Geec\u00a0to win the Decarbonising Road Freight Challenge <\/b>here<\/a>.<\/b> You have until 23:59 GMT on Monday, November 23, 2020<\/p>\n

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Follow their progress<\/p>\n