Investigation into the Aerodynamic Performance of a Concept Sports Car

Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics

M. Ghaleeh¹  S. Subbakrishna²  S. Milady²  M. Al. Qubeissi²  M. Dickison²  L. T. Wen² 

[1] Department of Engineering, University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom;Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom;

关键词: aerodynamics;    cfd modelling;    drag-force;    downforce;    light-weighting.;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Transport aerodynamic optimisation has become an increasingly important field of study in response to emerging factors, such as new human needs and market demands. This paper provides a concept in-house built sports-car aerodynamic and shape optimisation. Wind tunnel tests and numerical simulations have been set-up and conducted to understand the concept vehicle aerodynamic structure and needs for performance improvement. A computer-aided design model has been developed and implemented into the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software of StarCCM+ for detailed analysis. A 1/4th full-scale fibreglass model has been manufactured for validation. The combined experimental and CFD analyses show that the original aesthetic design exhibits high rear-end lift-force. Modifications have been assessed to improve the drag and lift forces for the front, middle and rear regions. Several geometrical changes are introduced, including new rear-wing design. Also, the front end, roof profile and various ducting modifications have been considered. The introduced design changes lead to optimised downforce of -560.18 N with negligible increase to the accumulated drag effects with CD ≤ 0.3.

【 授权许可】

Unknown