Fahrzeug- und

Windradaerodynamik
Dr.-Ing. A. Henze, Prof. Dr.-Ing. W. Schrder
Institute of Aerodynamics, RWTH Aachen University
Windradaerodynamik
Automobiles
Automobiles
blunt bodies
small ground distance
complex geometries
open cavities
rotating weels
internal channel flow
three-dimensional flow
turbulent boundary layers
external flow external flow
flow through the auto body
flow inside of aggregates
coupled external and internal flow
flowfield in the engine
Command variables
Tasks for automobile aerodynamics
Photo: Daimler-Chrysler AG
Automobiles
Coordinate system and definition
of air forces and moments
Variety of shapes in automobile aerodynamics
of air forces and moments
Usually Drag reduction
fuel consumption
maximum speed
pollutant emission
Lateral forces, yaw mamentum, lift
directional stability
behaviour in curves
sensitivity against cross wind
Automobiles
Visualization of the flowfield on a VW-Golf 1
Streamlines with smoke
smoke in separated region
Flowfield around Mercedes-Benz A-Modell
Visualization with smoke
computed simulation
Automobiles
Flow around single elements
sound creation at sharp edges
open windows
lighter doors, roofs, etc. flutter
Cooling air inlet (position)
air condition
acoustic level in the cabin
acoustic level in the surrounding
raindrops, mud
racing cars
Simple shapes of automobiles
racing cars
low drag
negative lift
optimum for each racing track
Automobiles
Design vs. aerodynamics
Droplet, Rumpler 1921
2 profiles, Jaray 1921
Profile + Rotational body, Jaray 1933
2 horizontal profiles, Lange 1937
Automobiles
slight entering without separation
cut off the contour immediately before
the flow separation
smaller tail area
pressure increase
smaller air drag
Kamm tail, 1938-1939
Automobiles
Streamlined Opel GT, 1969, c
w
= 0.41, A = 1.51 m
2
Detail optimized VW Scirocco, 1974, c
w
= 0.41, A = 1.73 m
2
2 possibilities
initial start from design, aerody-
namic optimization contours getting
rounder and fluent, drag is decreased
base body with low drag, changes from
designer contours getting stronger,
drag increased
Automobiles
Development of c
w
coefficient of european cars compared with low drag bodies
Automobiles
C
w
histogramm of european passenger cars, 2003
Driving performance
fuel consumption
maximum speed
ability to accelerate
Traction force between the wheels and the road surface
W: Air drag force
R: Rolling drag foce
m: mass of the car
V: velocity
t: time
g: gravitational acceleration
: slope of the road
Power
Plane road without acceleration
Air drag
Facing surface
Driving performance
Drag coefficient and facing surface for
different types of automobiles
Facing surface A
a) Different types of automobiles
b) Typical values for passenger cars
Driving performance
Rolling drag
Rolling drag coefficient of passenger car tyre Rolling drag coefficient of passenger car tyre
as a function of the velocity
Air and rolling drag as a function of the
velocity for a BMW 520 i
C
w
= 0.27, A = 2.18 m
2
, G = 1570 kg
Air drag is dominant
At 200 km/h: air drag is 80 % of the total drag
Reduction of fuel consumption
If the drag coefficient can be reduced from c
w0
about c
w
there are 2 possibilities
1. increase of the maximum velocity V
max
2. reduction of fuel consumption b
Number 2 should be modern, but number 1 is usual
Efficiency of the drag reduction with respect to the reduction of fuel consumption
: efficiency coefficient
The efficiency coefficient depends on
type of car
fuel consumption map of the engine
gear box adjustment
operation profile
Reduction of fuel consumption
Comparison between the old 1/3 mix and the new EU test cyclus (1996)
City cycle is the same for both test curves
high speed range is different
800 s constant 90 km/h and 120 km/h
Curve with accelerations and decelerations
High speed part is only 50% of the city cycle
Average velocity for 1/3 mix is 76.2 km/h
Average velocity for new EU mix is 32.5 km/h
Result:
10 % reduction of c w
3 % reduction of fuel consumption: = 0.3
for the 1/3 mix
2 % reduction of fuel consumption: = 0.2
for the new EU mix
Reduction of fuel consumption
More realistic results can be found, if if the efficiency of a drag reduction is measured
in a customer oriented driving operation.
Fast highway part of the cycle increases with the class of the passenger car
High class cars are often driving fast.
Efficiency is higher for high class cars
Typical values of for different car types
schwerer Kurs: mountanious track for passenger cars, city traffic for busses
Assumption: smaller drag, but the same maximum speed weaker engine
Increase of the maximum velocity
P: Power
F: Traction force
V: Velocity
Efficiency between entry of gearbox and the
contact area of the wheel
P B does not include the power of
auxiliary units
Simple rule of thumb:
Drag, flow around the car
a) Edges which are normal to the flow direction
edges which are inclined against the local
flow direction
b) Different separations in the tail region
Fullback: dead water with large volume
edges are normal to the local
flow direction
Fastback: strong vortex pair coming
the oblique C-columns the oblique C-columns
Notchback: combination of both
Drag, flow around the car
Three longitudinal vortex systems
strong vortex pair from the
C-column with inward rotating
direction
counterrotating vortices from
the A-column
third vortex pair coming from the
cowl. The flow separates at the
front window, weaker than the front window, weaker than the
others
Drag, flow around the car
Assumption:
A
ober
= flat plate of length l
Fully turbulent boundary layer
U

locally higher velocity
Approximation of the friction drag for a passenger
car and an overland bus
Overland bus: c
w
= 0.5: friction is 8%
Passenger car: c
w
= 0.3: friction i2 13%
C
wf
is an invariant for the friction coefficient
Drag, flow around the car
Fundamental relationship between modifications of shape details
and air drag
Drag, flow around the car
Typical functions: saturation, asymptote, minimum, jump
Blunted leading edge
Flow around the sharp edge of a flat plate
a) Streamlines
b) Pressure distribution
c) Velocity profiles
Influence of the edge radius on c
w
Blunted leading edge
Influence of the edge radius onto the
flow pattern and the drag of a cuboid
Influence of the radius on the critical Reynolds number
Blunted leading edge
Influence of the edge radius on the critical Reynolds number
Saturation
Saturation for the small bus VW LT 1
City bus: U = 50 km/h: r = 140 mm
Travel bus: U = 80 km/h: r = 89 mm
Optimal radius when the curve is saturated
Asymptote
inclination angle of front and rear window
height of boot
width of boot
Examples for Asymptote for AUDI 100 III
1983
No clear optimum
Conflict between design and
aerodynamics
Asymptote
Mechanisms:
inclination of the front window
more fluid over the roof and less
around the A-column, weaker vortices
smaller drag
inclination of the rear window
similar to a wing profile with smaller
angle of attack, flow around the side edges angle of attack, flow around the side edges
becomes weaker, smaller under pressure
on the rear window smaller drag,
higher lift
height and length of the boot
backward facing step, benefit for
reattachment
Minimum
Two different effects that work in opposite direction
Front spoiler and lower side of the car
a) Lift and drag
b) Pressure distribution
Type Minimum, schematic
b) Pressure distribution
Spoiler: normal plate
Lower side: rough flat plate
The spoiler protects the rough plate.
Decrease of the static pressure reduction of
the lift on the front axis
Stronger pressure gradient increase of the
volume flux of cooling air (important for racing cars)
Jump
Typical example: Hatchback
Fullback: = 0:
Separation on all 4 edges,
large dead water
Small angle:
Vortex pair induces down wind
Flow coming from the roof moves
mownward and reattaches on the rear
window, for a well rounded edge the window, for a well rounded edge the
separation bubble vanishes, the dead
water becomes smaller with the base area
The intensity of the vortices increases with
the angle . The under pressure in-
creases larger drag.
At 30: vortex break down of the vortices.
The downwind also breaks down. The
separation jumps from the lower edge
to the upper edge
Flow through channels
Cooling unit, water, oil, charge air
air condition in the passenger cabin
cooling unit for front wheel brakes
additional drag
influence on lift
measurement with open inlet and with closed inlet
drag of the cooling system
interference drag
different flow around the front part different flow around the front part
(can be negative)
stronger inclination of the front wheels
higher velocity on the lower surface
Face velocity u
f
for free and for covered
cooling inlet as a function of the
loss coefficient
Interference
multiple bodies
tractor-trailer
passenger car with caravan
geometric quantity
width of gap
Limited
total length < 18 m
manoeuverable
height difference
Influence of the correlation between
drivers cab and container on the drag
Interference
Head drag coefficient of a longitudinal cylinder
with a circular plate with different diameter ratios
and distances
Head: circular plate plus support stick plus
front part of the cylinder front part of the cylinder
small distances: c
w
= 0.72 (coaxial cylinder)
c
w
decrases with increasing distance
minimum for all diameter ratios
minimum depends on the diameter ratio
absolute minimum for d
1
/ d
2
= 0.75
cylinder with rounded leading edge
for larger distances: sum of both single values
Interference
I) extremely small drag c
w
* < 0.1
Distance diameter of the plate are optimal
ideal body with rounded nose
II) Distance too large, strong oscillations
III) Plate is too small
IV) Distance is too close
A) Plate too small, distance too large
B) Plate still too small, distance too large
C) Plate and distance too small
D) Plate too large
Triple-Point CBD is optimum
Interference
Influence of a baffle on the drivers
cab of a tractor trailer, example for Minimum, but
different from front spoiler
Comparison between the flowfields on a tractor-trailer with
and without a baffle on the drivers cab
Inclined incoming flow
Wind velocity
Side slip (Yaw) angle
different from air planes
tangential force, coefficient c
T
Influence of the yaw angle on the
tangential force coefficient of a tractor-trailer
with rounded and with sharp edge drivers cabin
Inclined incoming flow
The flow is going through the complex underbody under
inclination
Inclination in the gap flow between the cabin and the
container
vertical plate in the center at the front of the container
easy to handle if the truck is always in combination with the
same container
fairing on both sides of the gap
the tangential force is not very important in practice
high yaw angles at high velocities are seldom
high yaw angles at lower velocities are not relevant for fuel
consumption
Estimation:
~ 5for passenger cars on highways
~ 8for trucks (lower velocity)
Inclined incoming flow
Ford Werke GmbH (2003)
Pressure distribution for symmetric flow and for an angle of 20
Inclined incoming flow
Flowfield through the gap between the cabin
And the containe at inclined flow
Increase of the optimum nose
radius at inclination
Lift and pitching moment
Blunted bodies adjacent to the ground
Upward lift
momentum around the transverse axis
additional effect: positive curvature positive lift (profile theory)
only important for passenger cars
unimportant for busses and trucks
reduction of the lift force on both axes
positive lift is usually unwanted lower side forces
unbalanced forces on the axes self-steering properties
lift on the rear axis is to avoid brake system the rear axis should not block at first lift on the rear axis is to avoid brake system the rear axis should not block at first
Lift and pitching moment on a passenger car, schematic
Direction of motion, stability
inclined flow nonsymmetric flowfield side forces and additional moments
change of course, if the driver does not navigate against these forces
2 aspects for the reaction of a vehicle on side winds
comfort
safety
o annoying and exhausting for the driver to react permanently
on side winds on side winds
o for larger course deviation it becomes dangerous, if the
reactions during short gusts of wind or during outdistance
happens at the wrong moment
Rear engine front engine: smaller side wind sensitivity ( center of gravity moved forward
if the total weight of cars becomes smaller side wind sensitivity becomes more important
Direction of motion, stability
Driver plus car: closed loop system
command variable: road
the closed loop system should be stable
under all practical conditions
type of control of the driver cannot be
changed easily (by training)
type of control of the car itself is important
mathematical model for the car
mathematical model for the driver
forces and momentums for all
combinations of wind velocity and yaw
angle
Linearised car model
Small cross acceleration a
y
/ g < 0.5
linearised model
All angles are small except the yaw angle
cosine = 1
sine and tangent = angle
one lane model
No longitudinal forces (no acceleration, no
brake)
variation of vertical forces is neglected (at first)
model with 2 degrees of freedom (swimming
and yawing) and yawing)
neglection of side winds
Linearised car model
Movement of the center of gravity in cross direction
Rotation of the vehicle around the vertical axis
Slip angles on front and rear axes
Angle
Side forces on front and rear axis
c
V
and c
H
include the side stiffnes of
the tyres
and the elastic kinematic
properties of the axes
and the steering mechanism
Acceleration
Equations of the movement
Linearised car model
Sidewind included
unsymmetric flow
change of tangential force T, lift A, pitching moment M
new: side force S, yawing moment N, rolling moment R
Wind velocity U

has two parts

wind velocity V
W
road speed V
Simplified one-lane model including side wind
road speed V
Linearised car model
New components
Yawing moment : side force x lever arm
To keep the course with steady side wind
Resulting equations of movement
Elimination of leads to the steer angle
Side force and yawing moment
Equations of the movement
Linearised car model
The steering angle remains small, if
the aerodynamic coefficient k is small, can be influenced by the shape of the body
cross flow stiffness coefficient c
v
of the front axis is large cross flow stiffness coefficient c
v
of the front axis is large
Interesting: steer angle is zero
Linearised car model
Usually: passenger cars understeer
Distance x
s0
between the pressure point and the center of
gravity: preasure point must be behind cog.
Only possible with a large fin
Movement of the center of gravity is limited
Even cars with front engine have a positive x
s0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understeer
Even cars with front engine have a positive x
s0
Linear only for small angles
Stiffness = slope of the curves,
decreases if the
wheel load decreases
Lift influences the wheel load
Pitching moment distributes the lift
Switch from understeering to over-
steering more dangerous
Over- and Understeering
Drivers model
2-plane model
normal tour without disturbances, anticipating, control
stabilising, stochastic disturbances (wind), reduction of course deviation , adjustment control
Control
Reaction on wind average
Compensatory part
Critical especially for drastical changes (squally wind)
T
1
: reaction time
Reaction on wind average
stable
Critical especially for drastical changes (squally wind)
lateral deviation from course
yaw angle
yaw angle velocity
yaw angle acceleration
roll angle (high drivers positions in buses or vans
T

, T
y
, reaction times
A

, A
y
, driver coefficients, experiments
Side winds
fixed steering wheel
L
= 0
released steering gear
active control
Open loop: only the characteristics
of the car itself
Subjective feeling by interviewing Subjective feeling by interviewing
V: driving speed
V
W
: Wind velocity
Small yaw angle
linear behaviour of c
S
and c
N
Measurement of the yaw angle velocity
Integration: y(t)
Differentiation: yaw angle accelertaion
Side winds
From many experiments:
Large side wind sensitivity from yaw angle acceleration at the beginning
From interviews with test persons
Large c
N
high side wind sensitivity
large c
S
without yawing is good to be handled
For Aerodynamic people: on a conflict side force vs. Yaw moment
smaller yawing moment and higher side force
System driver + car
Try to keep the direction constant
Measurement of average and RMS of
L
(t)
usually no standard experimental conditions
different length of the test section
different velocitites
experiments cannot be compared
Side winds
frequency range
natural side wind
ration of the yaw angle velocity and the side wind
Aerodynamics at inclination
Main values: Yawing moment and
side force
important for side instabilities
where do they come from
how can they be influenced
Similar to lift force and pitching
moment on airfoils
Yaw angle = angle of attack
Overpressure on the windward
side (luv)
Underpressure on the leeward side
Side force (car) = lift (airfoil)
For well rounded front part (top
view) attached flow with a
leeside pressure peak
Yawing or pitching moment
Comparison of the pressure distribution on an airfoil with
a horizontal cut through a car
Aerodynamics at inclination
Usually the aerodynamic yaw moment is
unstable
Tends to increase the yaw angle
a) streamlined body:
no separation, small side force, large yawing
moment
b) Sharp tail:
flow separation, approximately the same
pressure on luv and lee in the tail region,
Dependency of the yawing moment of the yaw angle
pressure on luv and lee in the tail region,
large side force and smaller moment
c) Sharp nose and tail:
separation at the nose, larger sider force,
smaller moment, but very large drag
All three are unstable
d) Tail fin on the slender tail:
large side force and stable moment,
but, tail fins are not suitable for passenger
cars, because they make the car longer
Aerodynamics at inclination
Side view is also important for side forces and yawing moment
hatchback: small side force, large yawing moment, sensitive against side winds
variant: large side force, smaller yawing moment, relatively unsensitive
notchback: moderate force and moment
Aerodynamics at inclination
Smaller yaw moment for an intended flow separation at the nose for large inclination
Large inclination are only important for short times (squally wind)
Drag force is not very important
Optimal rounded nose attached floaw and small drag for small yaw angles
Real flow
Except for calm air:
athmospheric boundary layer
twisted velocity profile
unsteady flow
Overtake
squally wind
coming up against another car
side wind jets
Stochastic and deterministic time dependency Stochastic and deterministic time dependency
From high to lower frequencies
transition from laminar to turbulent, modified
separation
changed forces and moments by aeroelastic
effects
excitation of eigenfrequencies (yawing at
squally wind
additional wind noise
Real flow
Overshooting of side force
and yawing moment at
immersion into a side
wind jet
Typical problems in windtunnels and
computers
steady flow
thin boundary layer
non twisted boundary layer
degree of turbulence is small in wind
tunnels
the question of the errors due to the
strong idealization are not yet answered strong idealization are not yet answered
Flow on surfaces
Not only forces and moments, i.e. integral values
Details:
location of vents in the car body
forces on single parts of the car body; leak tightness
keep windows and mirrors free from mud and water
reduction of wind noise
Vents:
cooling air for engine, aggregates, brakes
combustion air for motor
fresh air for air condition in the cabin
Opening
Sun roofs
large scale connection between inner
room and outer flow
low frequent resonance
humming
can be reduced with kerfs in the wind
deflector
but slightly increased sound at higher
frequencies frequencies
Cabriolets:
avoid the backward flow behind the
seats
wind separation
Acoustics
wind noise becomes more important, since the
engine and the tyres have already been damped
in the last years
noise in the cabin is in the focus, but outer noise
becomes more important
leakages whistling noise optimization of
seals
turbulent boundary layers air frame noise
A-columns
outer mirror
optimize the shape of the mirror and its fixing to optimize the shape of the mirror and its fixing to
keep the turbulent small and to avoid that it hits
the side windows; windows have a smaller
damping
Acoustics
Single tones are very aggravating
cylindrical and prismatic parts
Acoustics on a telescope antenna, BMW
Multi phase flow
self contamination
air includes particles, wet and dry
particles are heavier than air cannot
follow the streamlines
settle down on surfaces
2 Aspects: safety and aesthetics
drip moulding at A-column or on top of
the tail window
Photo: Daimler Chrysler AG
Multi phase flow
Avoiding of mud sedimentation is more complex
stagnation points, head light
side windows, tail
aerodynamic forces are not strong enough
windshield wiper, water jets
a) Sedimentation of mud, particles are dispersed from the rear wheels,
enter the dead water region, sediment on the base
b) Dust shield across the total width increase of the drag force, is b) Dust shield across the total width increase of the drag force, is
reasonable for city buses, because of the small velocity
c) Additional wing, avoids mud in the upper part of the window, but
more mud in the lower region (licence tag) , effective wing must be
outside of the boundary layer increased drag force
Multi phase flow
Contamination of other motorists and cyclists
important for passenger cars
covering of uncontrolled wheels
free moving space for front wheels
reduced drag, especially for inclined flow angles
protection for the underbody