This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Windows Opening Influence on the Drag Coefficient of a Hatchback Vehicle
Technical Paper
2015-36-0158
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Aerodynamics plays a key role in nowadays vehicle development, aiming efficiency on fuel consumption, which leads to a green technology. Several initiatives around the world are regulating emissions and efficiency of vehicles such as EURO for European Marketing and the INOVAR Auto Project to be implemented in Brazil on 2017. In order to meet requirements in terms of performance, especially on aerodynamics, automakers are focusing on aero-efficient exterior designs and also adding deflectors, covers, active spoilers and several other features to meet the drag coefficient.
Usually, the aerodynamics properties of a vehicle are measured in both CFD simulations and wind tunnels, which provide controlled conditions for the test that could be easily reproduced. During the real operations conditions, external factors can affect the flow over the vehicle such as cross wind in open highways. The aerodynamic behavior of the vehicle can also be affected by the influence of the user such as by opening the windows in order to cool down the cabin, which is the main topic of this paper.
In this work, 12 different window-opening combinations are presented and the drag values compared with a baseline model, considering fully closed windows. The study was conducted using CFD simulations of a current production hatchback vehicle, with two passenger inside and full interior cabin representation. Results show drag increment for all presented cases, compared with baseline configuration, which also implies in fuel consumption increase. Further studies on cabin cooling effects and passenger’s thermal comfort are conducted in order to complement this paper.
Recommended Content
Authors
Topic
Citation
Buscariolo, F., Magazoni, F., Maruyama, F., Alves, J. et al., "Windows Opening Influence on the Drag Coefficient of a Hatchback Vehicle," SAE Technical Paper 2015-36-0158, 2015, https://doi.org/10.4271/2015-36-0158.Also In
References
- Buscariolo , F.F. Analysis of Different Types of Wind Tunnel's Ground Configuration Using Numerical Simulation SAE Paper, N° 2010-36-0078I Society of Automotive Engineers 2010
- Buscariolo , F.F. , Karbon , K.J. Comparative CFD Analysis Between Rotating and Static Cases of Different Wheels Opening Designs over a Performance Sedan SAE Paper, N° 2011-36-0271 Society of Automotive Engineers 2011
- European Environment Agency Monitoring CO 2 emissions from passenger cars and vans in 2013 EEA Technical report No 19/2014 2014
- Ferziger , P. ; Peric , M. Computational Methods for Fluid Dynamics 2nd Springer-Verland Germany 1999
- FLUENT 15 User´s Guide Fluent Inc. 2013
- Hucho , W. H. Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles, From Fluid Mechanics of Vehicle Engineering 4th SAE International 1998
- Kelly , K. B. ; Provencher , L. G. ; Schenkel , F. K. The General Motors Engineering Staff Aerodynamics Laboratory - A full Scale Automotive Wind Tunnel SAE Paper, N° 820371 Society of Automotive Engineers 1982
- Singh , R. CFD Simulation of NASCAR Racing Car Aerodynamics SAE Paper, N° 2008-01-0659 Society of Automotive Engineers 2008
- Tennekes , H. ; Lumley , J. L. A First Course in Turbulence MIT Press Cambridge, MA 1972
- TGrid 4 User´s Guide Fluent Inc. 2013
- Verteeg , H. K. ; Malalasekera , W. An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics - The Finite Volume Method Addison Wesley Longman Ltda 1995
- White , F. Fluid Mechanics - fouth edition McGraw Hill 1999