In automobiles, there are various multiphysics (specifically fluid structure interaction) events taking place which are very important from vehicle operations. Examples are - oil splashing in engine, water spraying on the windscreen, fuel sloshing in a tank etc. The simulation of such events becomes important in the design stage in order to study their proper functioning before the prototypes are made.
This paper enlightens the systematic procedures developed for the simulation of such events using coupled Euler-Lagrangian method available in commercial finite element explicit codes.
These simulations are very time consuming because of very small time steps and very large cycle time. To overcome this problem an attempt is made to use rigid bodies and a low bulk modulus fluid to speed up the simulation exponentially. These quick simulations can be used for early design iterations and final designs can be revalidated with flexible bodies and correct bulk modulus.
Based on this simulation method, following case studies are presented.
Oil splashing in an engine
Fuel sloshing in fuel tank
Fluid Motion Study
Low fuel level management in a vehicle
