Comparative CFD Analysis Between Rotating and Static Cases of Different Wheels Opening Designs over a Performance Sedan

This work here presented shows a comparative computational fluid dynamics study of several wheel openings designs and its influences on the drag coefficient measured over a high performance sedan. For all wheels designs, two situations were compared for the same speed of 110 km/h: static wheels - fixed ground and rotating wheels - moving ground. Results show that the drag coefficient value in the rotating wheel case is lower compared to the same wheel design in the static wheel case. Flow pattern and differences are illustrated by pressure, velocity and wake contours. These differences on rotating and non-rotating wheels are important for the correct development of underbody aero parts for all kind of vehicles.