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Automakers and race car teams can now perfect the aerodynamics of their vehicles in a simulator that moves the road instead of the car.
In October, NRC unveiled a ?rolling road? in its 9-metre by 9-metre wind tunnel to help automakers and race car teams design vehicles that are more aerodynamic.
Officially dubbed a ?ground effects simulation system,? the rolling road features a 5.6-metre-long belt, mounted flush with the wind tunnel floor. The belt fits between the wheels of a test vehicle, which sits on rollers. ?It's designed to simulate the movement of the road relative to a car,? says Dr. David Orchard of the NRC Institute for Aerospace Research. ?Instead of the car moving along the road, we keep the car in place and move the road. It rotates and generates conditions underneath the car that are similar to the real-life conditions when the car is in motion.?
One of the only full-scale facilities of its kind in North America, the rolling road can simulate speeds of up to 190 kilometres per hour. ?What makes our system unique is its length, which allows us to test large commercial and race team vehicles,? says Dr. Orchard. ?We can also use it to do ?drafting? studies for race car teams ? that is, place a car over the belt and another in front ' to measure slipstream effects.?
?We're getting a lot of interest from automobile and commercial truck manufacturers as this will allow them to better meet demands for increased fuel efficiency,? he adds. ?This will ultimately help them design better vehicles.? 
