Jeff Howell

Aerodynamic drag reduction for a simple bluff body using base bleed

Wind tunnel tests have been conducted on a simple bluff body model, representing a car like shape, to investigate drag reduction opportunities from injecting low velocity air into the base region. This flow is known as base bleed. Most tests have been carried out using a square back shape. The effects of flow rate, porosity and porosity distribution over the base area have been investigated. In all cases drag is reduced with increasing bleed rate, but the optimum porosity is a function of bleed rate. A significant part of the drag reduction occurs without the bleed flow and arises from the presence of a cavity in the model. The effects of cavity size are examined for different base configurations. Some factors affecting implementation are considered.

Aerodynamic Drag of a Compact SUV as Measured On-Road and in the Wind Tunnel

Growing concerns about the environmental impact of road vehicles will lead to a reduction in the aerodynamic drag for all passenger cars. This includes Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and light trucks which have relatively high drag coefficients and large frontal area. The wind tunnel remains the tool of choice for the vehicle aerodynamicist, but it is important that the benefits obtained in the wind tunnel reflect improvements to the vehicle on the road. Coastdown measurements obtained using a Land Rover Freelander, in various configurations, have been made to determine aerodynamic drag and these have been compared with wind tunnel data for the same vehicle. Repeatability of the coastdown data, the effects of drag variation near to zero yaw and asymmetry in the drag-yaw data on the results from coastdown testing are assessed. Alternative blockage corrections for the wind tunnel measurements are examined. A reasonable correlation between wind tunnel and on-road aerodynamic drag data is established for the configurations tested.

On the Optimisation of Road Vehicle Leading Edge Radius in Varying Levels of Freestream Turbulence

It has been recognised that the ideal flow conditions that exist in the modern automotive wind tunnel do not accurately simulate the environment experienced by vehicles on the road. This paper investigates the effect of varying one flow parameter, freestream turbulence, and a single shape parameter, leading edge radius, on aerodynamic drag. The tests were carried out at model scale in the Loughborough University Wind Tunnel, using a very simple 2-box shape, and in the MIRA Full Scale Wind Tunnel using the MIRA squareback Reference Car. Turbulence intensities up to 5% were generated by grids and had a strong effect on transcritical Reynolds number and Reynolds sensitivity at both model scale and full scale. There was a good correlation between the results in both tunnels.

Bluff Body Drag Reduction with Ventilated Base Cavities

Various techniques to reduce the aerodynamic drag of bluff bodies through the mechanism of base pressure recovery have been investigated. These include, for example, boat-tailing, base cavities and base bleed. In this study an Ahmed body in squareback configuration is modified to include a base cavity of variable depth, which can be ventilated by slots. The investigation is conducted in freestream and in ground proximity. It is shown that, with a plain cavity, the overall body drag is reduced for a wide range of cavity depths, but a distinct minimum drag condition is obtained. On adding ventilation slots a comparable drag reduction is achieved but at a greatly reduced cavity depth. Pressure data in the cavity is used to determine the base drag component and shows that the device drag component is significant. Modifications of the slot geometry to reduce this drag component and the effects of slot distribution are investigated. Some flow visualisation using PIV for different cavity configurations is also presented.

Aerodynamic Drag Reduction on a Simple Car-Like Shape with Rear Upper Body Taper

Various techniques to reduce the aerodynamic drag of bluff bodies through the mechanism of base pressure recovery have been investigated. These include, for example, boat-tailing, base cavities and base bleed. In this study a simple body representing a car shape is modified to include tapering of the rear upper body on both roof and sides. The effects of taper angle and taper length on drag and lift characteristics are investigated. It is shown that a significant drag reduction can be obtained with moderate taper angles. An unexpected feature is a drag rise at a particular taper length. Pressure data obtained on the rear surfaces and some wake flow visualisation using PIV are presented.

An Estimation of the Unsteady Aerodynamic Loads on a Road Vehicle in Windy Conditions

Road vehicles operate almost entirely in the unsteady conditions created by the natural wind and the wakes of other vehicles. This is a time dependent and turbulent environment, which differs noticeably from the conditions simulated in the wind tunnel. Using a quasi-steady analysis the aerodynamic characteristics, as determined from wind tunnel tests, are used to derive the unsteady aerodynamic loads experienced by a typical road vehicle subjected to a random wind input. For this paper the wind energy spectrum is of the von Karman type and isotropic turbulence is assumed. The effects of vehicle speed, wind speed and wind direction on lift and side force spectra are presented.

Vortex drag for a simple bluff body at incidence in ground proximity

Aerodynamic drag is comprised of pressure drag and skin friction only. The drag component associated with lift forces is contained within these two terms. In the case of a simple wing this drag component, called induced drag, is reasonably well defined as a function of lift, but for road vehicles the relationship is more complex. In this paper the drag due to lift, which will be called vortex drag, is investigated for a simple car-like shape at incidence in proximity to the ground. The vortex drag is derived from the parabolic relationship between drag and lift. The effects of ground clearance are considered for both moving a stationary ground simulations. The results are compared with data for other simple bodies.

Automotive aerodynamics special edition

This paper appeared in the journal Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering and the definitive published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0954407017723738.

A drag coefficient for application to the WLTP driving cycle

The aerodynamic drag characteristics of a passenger car have, typically, been defined by a single parameter: the drag coefficient at a yaw angle of 0°. Although this has been acceptable in the past, it does not provide an accurate measure of the effect of aerodynamic drag on fuel consumption because the important influence of the wind has been excluded. The result of using drag coefficients at a yaw angle of 0° produces an underprediction of the aerodynamic component of fuel consumption that does not reflect the on-road conditions. An alternative measure of the aerodynamic drag should take into account the effect of non-zero yaw angles, and a variant of wind-averaged drag is suggested as the best option. A wind-averaged drag coefficient is usually derived for a particular vehicle speed using a representative wind speed distribution. In the particular case where the road speed distribution is specified, such as for a driving cycle to determine fuel economy, a relevant drag coefficient can be derived by using a weighted road speed. An effective drag coefficient is determined with this approach for a range of cars using the proposed test cycle for the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, WLTP. The wind input acting on the car has been updated for this paper using recent meteorological data and an understanding of the effect of a shear flow on the drag loading obtained from a computational fluid dynamics study. In order to determine the different mean wind velocities acting on the car, a terrain-related wind profile has also been applied to the various phases of the driving cycle. An overall drag coefficient is derived from the work done over the full cycle. This cycle-averaged drag coefficient is shown to be significantly higher than the nominal drag coefficient at a yaw angle of 0°.