'Keep on Trucking': NASA Dryden's Aerodynamic Truck Research

摘要

As he rode his bicycle to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwin J. "Ed" Saltzman became intimately acquainted with the aerodynamics of tractor-trailers on the move. Saltzman's route took him along a section of California Route 58, a divided road frequented by heavy trucks. As one of these giants sailed by, he first felt a bow wave of air pushing him off the road and toward the sagebrush and tumbleweeds. But as the truck swept past, its wake had the opposite effect, drawing him toward the road, even causing him to veer into the lane.