Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
srmncrautovbe.blogspot.in /2015/07/vehicle-aerodynamics.html
Aerodynamics is the study of the forces generated by the flow of air around a solid object.This is a study
concerns about the airflow around the vehicle body.
1/32
At a speed of about 70 km/hr, aerodynamic drag exceeds 50% of total resistance to motion and above 100km/hr it
is the most important factor.
Aerodynamics impacts in the automobile:
Fuel Consumption (pollution)
Styling
Noise & Vibration
Control and Handling
1)Fuel Consumption:
2/32
i)Streamlines:
Curves associated with a pictorial representation of air flow
Smoke is commonly used in wind tunnels to represent the
streamlines
Streamlines are used to study air flow Velocity Distribution
ii)Velocity Distribution:
3/32
4/32
Force coefficients:
5/32
6/32
LIFT DRAG:
Lift Drag is the result of any lift force that is generated by the moving
vehicle.
The magnitude of the lift force is primarily a function of the basic
body shape.
The magnitude of the lift and its distribution to the front and rear
wheels is a function of the ground clearance, the contours of the body
and underbody, and the angle of attack of the body to the air.
It is about 7% of the total drag.
SURFACE DRAG:
Interference Drag is caused by the projection and protuberances that exist on the basic body.
The exterior vehicle body projections, such as hood ornament, windshield wipers, radio aerial, rearview mirror, air
scoop, roof pillars, rain gutters, all contribute to the total interference drag.
The various component projecting under the vehicle, such as engine pan, the suspension
7/32
Internal Flow Drag is the sum of all energy losses produced when air passes into, through, and out of all vehicle
systems requiring or permitting air flow.
The engine cooling flow (which is the primary internal flow component) plus passenger
ventilation flow and any internal flow required to cool brakes or other mechanical components contribute to internal
flow drag.
It is about 12% of the total drag.
Wind Tunnel:
Wind tunnels are used to simulate air flow in laboratories under controlled conditions.
These find vast application in automobile and aircraft industry to test the prototype for aerodynamic conditions
specially drag force on the prototype.
School laboratories utilize them to study flow around small objects like a sphere or a wedge.
Wind tunnels are designed for specific purposes. A wind tunnel designed for school lab is generally between
2m to 12 meters long while the wind tunnels in automobile are large enough to accommodate whole car in its
8/32
test section.These days wind tunnels are being replaced by CFD tools.
Types of Wind Tunnel:
Wind tunnels can be classified based on air flow speed in test section and based on shape.
Based on Flow Speed:
1. Subsonic or low speed wind tunnels
2. Transonic wind tunnels
3. Supersonic wind tunnels
4. Hypersonic wind tunnels
Based on Shape
1. Open circuit wind tunnel
2. Suck-down tunnel
3. Blower tunnel
4. Closed circuit wind tunnel
Subsonic or low speed wind tunnels:
Maximum flow speed in this type of wind tunnels can be 135m/s.
Flow speed in wind tunnels is generally preferred in terms of Mach number which comes out to be around 0.4
for this case.
This type of wind tunnels are most cost effective due to the simplicity of the design and low wind speed.
Generally low speed wind tunnels are found in schools and universities because of low budget.
Transonic wind tunnels:
9/32
Maximum velocity in test section of transonic wind tunnels can reach up-to speed of sound ie 340m/s or
Mach number of 1.
These wind tunnels are very common in aircraft industry as most aircraft's operate around this speed.
Supersonic wind tunnels:
10/32
Velocity of air in test section of such wind tunnels can be upto Mach 5.
This is accomplished using convergent - divergent nozzles.
Power requirements for such wind tunnels are very high.
Wind velocity in test section of such type of wind tunnels can measure between Mach 5 and Mach 15.
This is also achieved using convergent - divergent nozzles.
Open circuit wind tunnel:
This type of wind tunnel is open at both ends. The chances of dirt particles entering with air are more so
more honeycombs (mesh to clean incoming air) are required to clean the air.
Open type wind tunnels can further be divided into twocategories:
a) Suck down tunnel:
With the inlet open to atmosphere, axial fan or centrifugal blower is installed after test section. This type of
wind tunnels are not preferred because incoming air enters with significant swirl.
b) Blower tunnel:
A blower is installed at the inlet of wind tunnel which throws the air into wind tunnel. swirl is a problem in this
case as well but blower tunnels are much less sensitive to it.
11/32
Outlet of such wind tunnel is connected to inlet so the same air circulates in the system in a regulated way.
The chances of dirt entering the system are also very low.
closed wind tunnels have more uniform flow than open type. This is usually a choice for large wind tunnels as
these are more costlier than open type wind tunnels.
12/32
13/32
PX = Force of air drag in the direction of motion with wind along longitudinal axis.
PY = Side wind force or Cross-wind force.
PZ = Lift force.
MX = Rolling moment about longitudinal axis caused by the force PY.
MY = Pitching moment about lateral axis caused by force PZ.
MZ = Yawing moment about vertical axis caused by the force PY.
AERODYNAMIC LIFT & PITCHING MOMENT:
If a fairing is used to cover the cockpit there will be an increase in both lift and pitching moment.
However if a fairing is not used there will be an advantageous effect on lift and pitching movement but increase in
the drag coefficient CX With the fairing fitted, the large area of negative pressure is toward the rear of the car.
It is this negative pressure which causes the increase in lift and negative pitching moment.
14/32
15/32
16/32
Three box construction has the greatest spread of lift coefficients (from 0.4 to 1.0)
Flat fronted type of vehicle has the smallest range (0.15 to 0.55)
Saloon cars can reach a value of 100 kg, or 8 to 10 per cent of the total weight.
Sports or racing cars the lift can reach values of 130 kg, which is 15 to 25 per cent of the
total weight.
17/32
Side force is formed by asymmetric flow round the vehicle body when the wind angle is not equal to zero.This
force acts at CP & creates moment about CG-Yawing moment about Z-axis.
FIG 1
The above fig 4 gives values of Cmz Obtained from wind tunnel tests. It is worthy of note that vehicle bodies
with good aerodynamic direct force coefficients (low values of Cx CY and CZ ) have the largest values of
18/32
Cmz.
The vehicle with poor aerodynamic properties will have a better( that is, lower) yawing moment coefficient.
A side wind will produce a yawing moment tending to turn the vehicle away from the direction of the motion.
FIG 2
19/32
20/32
The use of stabilisers or fins at the rear of the vehicle gives very good results.Without a stabiliser (curve a)
thevehicle is unstable.
Simple stabiliser (curve b) reduces the yawing moment coefficient and, at large crosswind angles, actually
provides a stable condition.
The center of the aerodynamic forces is usually above the center of gravity so that the
cross wind force PY will produce a rolling moment Mx about longitudinal axis.
21/32
Rolling moment generated by cross winds has a sizeable effect on the weight distribution on the wheels.
FIG 3
Fig 3 shows that the wheel load on the same axle can vary by up to 100kg. This effect is dangerous for
coaches and particularly for tall vans, where the side force acts a long way above the center of gravity. The
only real solution here is an increase in wheel track
Optimization
22/32
Optimization
Modification of Fore body
Modification of Windshield
Modification of Roof
Modification of Vehicle rear end
Add on device
General Improvements
Modification of Fore body:
Initial shape is designated as forebody1.
Bar graph shows the percentage of drag reduction.
A small correction on front edge alone reduced the drag by 6%.
Front end shapes 3,4&5 represent equal variant.
They provide an improvement of 10%.
Shape 6 gives a reduction of 14%.
Modification of Windshield:
Flow separation occurs at the Cowl.
Reattachment occurs at windshield.
Point of separation S is displaced towards front.
Point of reattachment towards rear.
If windshield angle becomes steeper.
23/32
24/32
The inclination of the engine hood also has an effect upon the drag.
Once the slope is steep enough to keep the flow attached, further sloping does not reduce drag any further.
The optimum slope angle depends on the leading edge radius and on the windscreen rake.
Modification of Roof:
25/32
ADD ON DEVICE:
When there is a gentle rear end body profile curvature change, it will be accompanied with a relatively fast but
smooth streamline air flow over this region which does not separate from the upper surface.
This results in lower local pressures which tend to exert a lift force ( upward suction) at the rear end of the car.
A lip or small aerofoil spoiler attached to the rear end of the car boot interrupts the smooth streamline air flow
thereby raising the upper surface local air pressure which effectively increase the downward force known as
negative lift..
A typical relationship between rear lift, front lift and drag coefficients relative to the spoiler lip height is shown in
graph.
26/32
General Improvements:
1- Front
spoiler
2Ducted
engine
cooling
3-
27/32
4- Aerodynamic mirrors
5- Smooth windshield transitions
6- Smooth side window transitions
7- Smooth rear window transition
8- Optimized trunk corner radii
9- Optimized lower rear panel
10 - Smooth fuel tank and underbody
11- Optimized rocker panels
12- Flush wheel covers
13- Elimination of the rain gutter
Flow visualization:
Because air is transparent it is difficult to directly observe the air movement itself.Instead, multiple methods of both
quantitative and qualitative flow visualization methods have been developed for testing in a wind tunnel.
Qualitative methods
Smoke
Tufts
Tufts are applied to a model and remain attached during testing. Tufts can be used to
gauge air flow patterns and flow separation.
Compilation of images taken during an alpha run starting at 0 degrees alpha ranging to 26 degrees alpha. Images
taken at the Kirsten Wind Tunnel using fluorescent mini-tufts. Notice how separation starts at the outboard wing and
progresses inward. Notice also how there is delayed separation aft of the nacelle.
28/32
China clay on a wing in the Kirsten Wind Tunnel showing reverse and span-wise flow.
Oil
When oil is applied to the model surface it can clearly show the transition from laminar to
turbulent flow as well as flow separation.
29/32
30/32
How it works
Due to the effects of viscosity, the cross-section of a wind tunnel is typically circular rather than square,
because there will be greater flow constriction in the corners of a square tunnel that can make the flow
31/32
Pressure across the surfaces of the model can be measured if the model includes pressure taps. This can be
useful for pressure-dominated phenomena, but this only accounts for normal forces on the body.
Force and moment measurements
A typical lift coefficient versus angle of attack curve.With the model mounted on a force balance, one can
measure lift, drag, lateral forces, yaw, roll, and pitching moments over a range of angle of attack. This allows
one to produce common curves such as lift coefficient versus angle of attack (shown).
Note that the force balance itself creates drag and potential turbulence that will affect the
model and introduce errors into the measurements. The supporting structures are
therefore typically smoothly shaped to minimize turbulence.
32/32