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A Prediction Method for the Aerodynamic Drag of Cars
Technical Paper
825053
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
A new empirical method has been developed by MIRA for predicting
the aerodynamic drag of cars. Replacing the earlier MIRA Drag
Rating Method, it is aimed at assisting designers in the initial
development of car body shapes, but is not intended as a substitute
for wind-tunnel development work.
New experimental data have been acquired in the course of this
project, and these, together with other recent data, have been
combined with the model data which was used to help formulate the
earlier drag rating method in order to form the basis of the new
method.
Unlike the earlier method, the new prediction technique has been
formulated as a set of continuous functions relating the various
components of the car drag coefficient to those dimensional and
geometrical parameters which have been shown to have a significant
influence.
The validity of the method has been indicated by a comparison of
the drag coefficients predicted for fifteen widely-differing car
designs with the corresponding values derived from full-scale wind
tunnel measurements.