Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter
Generating aerodynamic downforce for the wheels on the front axle of a car is a much more difficult task than for the rear axle. This paper, submitted to the special issue of Energies “Future of Road Vehicle Aerodynamics”, presents an unusual solution to increase the aerodynamic downforce of the fro...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-07-01
|
| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/15/5543 |
| _version_ | 1827618428872032256 |
|---|---|
| author | Maciej Szudarek Konrad Kamieniecki Sylwester Tudruj Janusz Piechna |
| author_facet | Maciej Szudarek Konrad Kamieniecki Sylwester Tudruj Janusz Piechna |
| author_sort | Maciej Szudarek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Generating aerodynamic downforce for the wheels on the front axle of a car is a much more difficult task than for the rear axle. This paper, submitted to the special issue of Energies “Future of Road Vehicle Aerodynamics”, presents an unusual solution to increase the aerodynamic downforce of the front axle for cars with covered wheels, with the use of an elastic splitter. The effect of the inflatable splitter on the aerodynamic forces and moments was studied in a DrivAer passenger car and a fast sports car, Arrinera Hussarya. Providing that the ground clearance was low enough, the proposed solution was successful in increasing the front axle downforce without a significant increase in drag force. The possibility of emergency application of such a splitter in the configuration of the body rotated by up to 2 degrees with the front end raised was also analyzed. An elastic, deformed splitter remained effective for the nonzero pitch case. The results of the calculations are presented in the form of numerical data of aerodynamic forces, pressure and velocity distributions, and their comparisons. The benefits of the elastic splitter are documented, and the noted disadvantages are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:08:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4f18d34180e948af983e7d394bcd9070 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:08:30Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-4f18d34180e948af983e7d394bcd90702023-12-01T22:55:07ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-07-011515554310.3390/en15155543Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable SplitterMaciej Szudarek0Konrad Kamieniecki1Sylwester Tudruj2Janusz Piechna3Institute of Metrology and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Mechatronics, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-525 Warsaw, PolandInstitute of Micromechanics and Photonics, Faculty of Mechatronics, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-525 Warsaw, PolandInstitute of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-665 Warsaw, PolandInstitute of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-665 Warsaw, PolandGenerating aerodynamic downforce for the wheels on the front axle of a car is a much more difficult task than for the rear axle. This paper, submitted to the special issue of Energies “Future of Road Vehicle Aerodynamics”, presents an unusual solution to increase the aerodynamic downforce of the front axle for cars with covered wheels, with the use of an elastic splitter. The effect of the inflatable splitter on the aerodynamic forces and moments was studied in a DrivAer passenger car and a fast sports car, Arrinera Hussarya. Providing that the ground clearance was low enough, the proposed solution was successful in increasing the front axle downforce without a significant increase in drag force. The possibility of emergency application of such a splitter in the configuration of the body rotated by up to 2 degrees with the front end raised was also analyzed. An elastic, deformed splitter remained effective for the nonzero pitch case. The results of the calculations are presented in the form of numerical data of aerodynamic forces, pressure and velocity distributions, and their comparisons. The benefits of the elastic splitter are documented, and the noted disadvantages are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/15/5543fluid–structure interactioninflatable splittercomputational fluid dynamicsCFD simulationsaerodynamic downforce |
| spellingShingle | Maciej Szudarek Konrad Kamieniecki Sylwester Tudruj Janusz Piechna Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter Energies fluid–structure interaction inflatable splitter computational fluid dynamics CFD simulations aerodynamic downforce |
| title | Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter |
| title_full | Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter |
| title_fullStr | Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter |
| title_short | Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter |
| title_sort | towards balanced aerodynamic axle loading of a car with covered wheels inflatable splitter |
| topic | fluid–structure interaction inflatable splitter computational fluid dynamics CFD simulations aerodynamic downforce |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/15/5543 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maciejszudarek towardsbalancedaerodynamicaxleloadingofacarwithcoveredwheelsinflatablesplitter AT konradkamieniecki towardsbalancedaerodynamicaxleloadingofacarwithcoveredwheelsinflatablesplitter AT sylwestertudruj towardsbalancedaerodynamicaxleloadingofacarwithcoveredwheelsinflatablesplitter AT januszpiechna towardsbalancedaerodynamicaxleloadingofacarwithcoveredwheelsinflatablesplitter |