Control of Passenger Vehicle Internal Aerodynamics Through Forced Air Extraction

The increasing competitiveness in the automobile market has resulted in the incorporation by the manufacturers of certain features in newer cars that are deemed highly desirable by the customer. Among such features that require improvement is the thermal comfort of passengers' within the cabin. Thermal comfort is in increasing demand from motorists bound to cover more mileage driving cars than ever before. As a result, car makers are striving for improved climate conditions inside the car to meet passenger demand for more comfortable trips. The need to improve the climatic comfort within the vehicle is critical not only to passengers' comfort but also to their safety. However, to make progress in this area, a good understanding of the airflow behaviour within the vehicle interior is required. This paper, reports on a novel idea of control the air movement within the cabin by forcibly removing the air from strategically positioned vents. The aim is to remove the temperature stratification prevailing within the cabin and enhance the climate for the occupants, both front and rear. The proposed method is tested in a 1/5-scaled Perspex passenger-compartment. The prevailing fluid motion within the cabin is measured and numerically simulated using CFD. The measurements are used to validate the predictions prior to any CFD parametric study.