TESTING: New 40%-scale wind tunnel increases GM's aero-development capacity

摘要

Reducing aerodynamic drag by 12 counts (reducing Cd by 0.0012) is equal to gaining about 1 mpg in vehicle fuel efficiency - "and our goal is to eliminate as many counts as we can," said Scott Miller, General Motors' Director of Global CO_2 Strategy, Energy, Mass, and Aerodynamics, at the recent opening of his company's new reduced-scale wind tunnel at the GM Technical Center in Warren, MI. The new 32,000-ft~2 (2973-m~2) facility represents a $30 million investment for improving vehicle efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through greater aerodynamic design, testing, and validation. "Every vehicle we develop is measured in terms of dollars-per-gram of CO_2 emissions per mile," Miller noted.