Experimental Analysis of the Underbody Pressure Distribution of a Series Vehicle on the Road and in the Wind Tunnel

Underbody aerodynamics has become increasingly important over the last three decades because of its vital contribution to improving a vehicle's overall performance. This was the motivation for the research conducted by BMW Aerodynamics, concerning the determination of the overall pressure distribution on the underbody of a series-production vehicle.

Static pressure measurements have been taken under various test conditions. Real on-road tests were carried out as well as wind tunnel experiments under application of different road simulation techniques. The analyzed vehicle configurations include wheel rim-tire and body modifications.

The results presented include surface pressure data, drag and lift coefficients, ride heights, pitch and roll angles. The acquired data is used to examine the underbody flow topology and determine how the diverse attempts to represent the real on-road conditions affect its pressure distribution.