Passive and active flow control effects in the platoon and overtaking maneuvers

The current numerical study is dedicated to investigating the effect of passive, active, and combined flow control techniques on the performance of the vehicles in different maneuvers including, platoon and overtaking on critical highway velocity (70 miles per hour) for a reference bluff body vehicle called Ahmed body. The target passive flow control method is an innovative technique called Rear Linking Tunnels (RLTs), introduced previously by the group of authors. Studying the effect of the Single Dielectric Barrier Discharge Actuator (SDBD) as an active flow control method and its combined effect with RLTs on the drag and lift of controlled vehicles and surrounding vehicles in various maneuvers is one of the main aims of this research study.