The Mystery of The R-Pod Total Frontal Area |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Topic: The Mystery of The R-Pod Total Frontal Area Posted: 14 May 2019 at 4:49pm |
Its waaay too much. But, its not the only way. You can use coast down testing as I mentioned earlier. This is how folks evaluate the effectiveness of aero add-ons for semis. There are free calculators to input the data into, and as you are coasting from a high speed where aero drag dominates to a low speed where rolling resistance dominates, you can get decent numbers for both factors. The calculators use linear regression analysis to obtain the two coefficients. I dd it for my Highlander last year and got pretty decent initial results. I haven't done it for the combined rig yet because I want to remove my a/c unit and install my solar array first. I'm going to shoot for 1 kW. Once that's on I want to do coast down testing to optimize the solar module tilts to see if I can get them to act as spoilers. Not only saving energy towing but simultaneously producing energy, that will beat lostagain's Shasta wings |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 6:51pm |
But not my unicorn wings.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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David and Danette
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 24 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 8:20pm |
The Curtis Wright Clipper may be the first camper to be built with wind drag in mind. I think for the r-pod to have less wind drag it would need to have a tapered back to minimize wind turbulence creating drag.
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2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-
2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 15 May 2019 at 5:51am |
Yes, as i understand it, to reduce flow separation and turbulence, you want to try to bring down the rear (or sides)of an object at no more than about a 20 degree taper as long a possible. Then, when you can no longer continue to do that you make as clean a break as possible so that the turbulent flow separates from the rear of the object, "spoiling" the airflow and reducing the area of low pressure immediately behind the object. Take a look at the rear of a Prius for example. Or at the tail fairings you see on some semi trailers now.
I was thinking to try to do that with a full width 350 watt-ish solar module on the top rear of my rPod overhanging the back window. It would also provide some summer shade in that area. I'm thinking the side treatment would be 0.090 aluminum sheeting which i would extend forward to enclose the sides of two additional solar modules in front of the rear one. The a/c unit and tv antenna would go away, so that the front modules would drop down to meet the existing roofline. I would also need some type of small front fairing to smooth the airflow where the front module comes down to the roof. That's about as far as I've gotten with the concept so far.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 15 May 2019 at 10:09am |
Here's roughly what I have in mind
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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podwerkz
Senior Member Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 15 May 2019 at 11:38am |
Just mount a pair of JATO's under the frame...you wont worry about too much drag ever again! |
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r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2629 |
Posted: 15 May 2019 at 5:02pm |
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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podwerkz
Senior Member Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 15 May 2019 at 5:08pm |
Yes I was referencing that 'story'....and no more worries about aerodynamic drag...ever again! Rocket-Pod, anyone? |
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r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 15 May 2019 at 5:57pm |
No worries about anything else ever again either.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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podwerkz
Senior Member Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 15 May 2019 at 7:43pm |
That Darwin dude was right after all....
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r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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