Aerodynamic Fairing for Intermodal Railroad

Sponsor: Union Pacific Railroad

Team: Drag'n Force

Coach: Brian Liechty

Students: Tyler Blackhurst, Clif Mortensen, Jeremy Warren, Rose Wieland

Due to rising costs and environmental impact, the need to reduce fuel consumption is increasingly emphasized. As one of the largest consumers of diesel fuel in the US, Union Pacific Railroad actively seeks to reduce its fuel consumption rate. A portion of this consumption is due to overcoming aerodynamic drag or wind resistance.

Team Drag N' Force tested many concepts to reduce aerodynamic drag on intermodal container traffic. They used CAD modeling, computation fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel testing to develop the best aerodynamic design for a drag reducing wind fairing concept.

Union Pacific plans to field test a proposed prototype to prove actual fuel savings. Potential drag reduction could produce fuel savings of 0.5% based on wind tunnel tests and CFD analysis.