Canada's infrastructure and transportation systems are regularly being challenged by our changing climate. Stronger winds are affecting the aerodynamic response and durability of our infrastructure and increasing the energy use of ground vehicles, while the growing frequency of freezing rain events is introducing ice-shedding risk on bridges that affect transportation safety and the transborder economy. Research to address these challenges has become a priority area for the NRC.
Our expertise
To support research in this priority area, the NRC's Aerospace Research Centre aims to contribute to the sustainability of ground transportation systems and the resiliency of Canada's infrastructure in a number of ways:
- Advancing the science of ground-based aerodynamics through high-quality research with government, industry and academic partners
- Supporting the development and execution of regulations, codes, guidelines and standards in Canada and internationally
- Collaborating with partners on the development of climate-resilient and aerodynamic technology solutions
In this research area, the NRC works with our strategic partners to deliver innovative R&D using a combination of approaches:
- Project and experimental design
- Full-scale and model-scale wind-tunnel and climatic-facility testing methods
- Vehicle- and ground-based field-testing capabilities
- Commercial and custom simulation solutions, including ground- and road-level wind prediction, computational fluid dynamics, ice and snow accretion prediction
Programs
Check out our Climate change and sustainability research at the NRC - National Research Council Canada to learn about NRC programs that support Canada's climate impact goals.
Facilities and labs
Learn more about the NRC's facilities and labs that can help you develop, test and validate your climate impact technologies:
Success stories
Learn more about our accomplishments in the field of climate impact:
Scientific publications
- Effect of cable surface geometry and ice accretion shapes on the aerodynamic behaviour of inclined stay cables (Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics)
- An investigation of rain-wind induced vibrations on stay cables in a novel range of operating conditions (Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics)
- Simulating traffic-wake effects in a wind tunnel (SAE International Journal of Advances and Current Practices in Mobility)
- Impact of mixed traffic on the energy savings of a truck platoon (SAE International Journal of Advances and Current Practices in Mobility)
- A drag-reduction prediction model for truck platoons (SAE Technical Paper)
Why work with us
Our specialized advisory services build on 50 years of expertise in road vehicle aerodynamics and wind engineering. These services range from leveraging wind tunnels, high-performance computing and field experimentation techniques to developing custom project solutions to meet the needs of our partners. With our team of research engineers, designers and technicians, we can provide collaborative R&D and technical services to help you advance your new technologies:
- Collaborative R&D: To help you advance your R&D projects
- Technical services: To help you test and mature your technology and take it to the next level
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Contact us
Business Development Team
Aerospace Research Centre
Email: NRC.Aerobdt-Edaaero.CNRC@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca