Xist...
After the government realizes your effort surpasses all known FE, they arrest you and take your truck. So... 900% effort ends in 99 years of solitary confinement
No gains...
I have to agree with Chaz on the space and ease of construction. But here is something I am wondering about... What happens if you need to carry a load in your truck, which means the tail end of the cap is up in the air by 2-3'? I would think at this point, the flatter looking hatch would be more CD friendly, than what we are talking about. While area rule is good, I don't think we have the speeds or length enough to make it a huge factor. If the trailing area of the cap, under both circumstances keep the boundary layer of air attached, I would assume that the least amount of area at the end, would allow the greatest amount of drag reduction. At the same time, the question of usable space and the altering of the properties plays into my mind when I think of strapping down the aerocap for a normal size load. Last thing that would help would be a giant air brake!
With Morelli shape, my issue would be this... the very fact it is top to bottom a shape. I agree totally, very aero-sexy. It doesn't have any real sides. It is clean in shape. What we are adding, is a cap to make up for the bad CD, and try to lower it. His model, has a "flat" tail for the most part. If you were to use the shape shown, the tailgate end of the cap should remain as flattening out, no? It seems to me like we are comparing aerodynamics for car, rather than a semi. Yes both can be reduced, hugely. It comes at a cost though. You can make a highly aerodynamic semi.. the questions is, how much cargo space is there at that point, what is going to be the major trade off.. I think as far as practical means go, for design, building, and use, Chaz, Bondo, Swede are about spot on. Yes, there are most aerodynamic shapes, but to put into work, I think there would be some unforeseen issues.
I was going to show something between Chaz and my edit for the cap. But, I failed today. My editing skills are like my childhood... poor most of the time.
Next attempt... maybe I will try a semi rigid inflatable aerocap! Best of all worlds.
I do truly appreciate all the thought and effort put into this thread. The ideas, thoughts. You guys are some of the smartest and nicest people I have seen on forums. I really enjoy the ideas being shared. Thank you, to all of you.
