Plasma vortex generators could cut lorry fuel costs

Vortex generators are already widely used in the aerospace industry to enhance lift at takeoff and landing.

Typically mounted on the upper side of a wing these mechanical devices – which resemble small fins - operate on a basic aerodynamic principle: if you reduce the separation of the airflow on the leeward side of an airfoil, you can enhance the lift and at the same time reduce the drag.

Now, researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden hope to exploit the same phenomenon on lorries, and have developed technology that they claim could reduce fuel consumption by up to five per cent.

Intriguingly, unlike conventional vortex generators, the KTH system, which has been developed in collaboration with truck manufacturer Scania, is entirely electronic.

The system uses plasma actuators to apply a high voltage between two electrodes. Surrounding air molecules become ionized and accelerate through the electric field – which results in wind.