Aerodynamics In Cars

Aerodynamics In Cars

ABSTRACT

When objects move through air, forces are generated by the relative motion between the air and surfaces of the object. Aerodynamics is the study of these forces, generated by the motion of air, usually aerodynamics are categorized according to the type of flow as subsonic, hypersonic, supersonic etc. It is essential that aerodynamics be ta en in to account during the design of cars as an improved aerodynamics in car would attain higher speeds and more fuel efficiency. !or attaining this aerodynamic design the cars are designed lower to the ground and are usually slee in design and almost all corners are rounded off, to ensure smooth passage of air through the body , in addition to it a number of enhancements li e spoilers, wings are also attached to the cars for improving aerodynamics. Wind tunnels are used for analyzing the aerodynamics of cars , besides this a number of software"s are also available now days to ensure the optimal aerodynamic design.

Aerodynamics In Cars

CONTENTS

Ac nowledgement Abstract Contents $ist of figures 1. Introduction #. Aerodynamic forces on a body a% $ift b% Weight c% &rag d% 'hrust (. )istory and evolution of aerodynamics *. +tudy of Aerodynamic forces on cars a% &rag b% $ift or &ownforce ,. Aerodynamic devices -. &rag Coefficiant .. /ethods for evaluating Aerodynamics in cars a% Wind tunnels b% +oftwares 0. Aerodynamic &esign tips 1. conclusions 12. 3eferences

Aerodynamics In Cars

INTRODUCTION

When objects move through air, forces are generated by the relative motion between air and surfaces of the body, study of these forces generated by air is called aerodynamics. 4ased on the flow environment it can be classified in to e5ternal aerodynamics and internal aerodynamics6 e5ternal aerodynamics is the flow around solid objects of various shapes, where as internal aerodynamics is the flow through passages in solid objects, for e.g. the flow through jet engine air conditioning pipe etc. 'he behavior of air flow changes depends on the ratio of the flow to the speed of sound. 'his ratio is called /ach number, based on this mach number the aerodynamic problems can be classified as subsonic if the speed of flow is less than that of sound, transonic if speeds both below and above speed of sound are present, supersonic if characteristics of flow is greater than that of sound and hypersonic if flow is very much greater than that of sound. Aerodynamics have wide range of applications mainly in aerospace engineering ,then in the design of automobiles, prediction of forces and moments in ships and sails, in the field of civil engineering as in the design of bridges and other buildings, where they help to calculate wind loads in design of large buildings.

Aerodynamics In Cars

AERODYNAMIC FORCES ON A BODY

!ig 1 LIFT It is the sum of all fluid dynamic forces on a body normal to the direction of e5ternal flow around the body. $ift is caused by 4ernoulli"s effect which states that air must flow over a long path in order to cover the same displacement in the same amount of time. 'his creates a low pressure area over the long edge of object as a result a low pressure region is formed over the aerofoil and a high pressure region is formed below the aerofoil, it is this difference in pressure that creates the object to rise !7819#%C$d:#A Where ; C$7 Coefficient of $ift, dependent on the specific geometry of the object, determined e5perimentally d7 &ensity of air :7:elocity of object relative to air, A7Cross<sectional area of object, parallel to wind

Aerodynamics In Cars

DRAG It is the sum of all e5ternal forces in the direction of fluid flow, so it acts opposite to the direction of the object. In other words drag can be e5plained as the force caused by turbulent airflow around an object that opposes the forward motion of the object through a gas or fluid.

!7819#%C&d:#A where; C&7 Coefficient of &rag, dependent on the specific geometry of the object, determined e5perimentally. d7 &ensity of air. :7:elocity of object relative to air. A7 cross section of frontal area. +ince drag is dependent on s=uare of velocity it is most predominant when object is traveling at very high speeds. It is the most important aerodynamic force to study because it limits both fuel economy of a vehicle and the ma5imum speed at which a vehicle can travel. WEIGHT It is actually just the weight of the object that is in motion.i.e. the mass of the object multiplied by the magnitude of gravitational field.'his weight has a significant effect on the acceleration of the object. THRUST When a body is in motion a drag force is created which opposes the motion of the object so thrust can be the force produce in opposite direction to drag that is higher than that of drag so that the body can move through the fluid. 'hrust is a reaction force e5plained by >ewton"s second and third laws, 'he total force e5perienced by a system accelerating in mass ?m@ is e=ual and opposite to mass ?m@ times the acceleration e5perienced by that mass.

Aerodynamics In Cars

HISTORY & EVOLUTION OF AERODYNAMICS

Aver since the first car was manufactured in early #2 th century the attempt has been to travel at faster speeds, in the earlier times aerodynamics was not a factor as the cars where traveling at very slow speeds there were not any aerodynamic problems but with increase of speeds the necessity for cars to become more streamlined resulted in structural invention such as the introduction of the windscreen, incorporation of wheels into the body and the insetting of the headlamps into the front of the car. 'his was probably the fastest developing time in automobiles history as the majority of the wor was to try and reduce the aerodynamic drag. 'his happened up to the early 11,2"s, where by this time the aerodynamic dray had been cut by about *,B from the early cars such as the +ilver Chost. )owever, after this the levels of drag found on cars began to slowly increase. 'his was due to the way that the designing was thought about. 4efore11,2, designers were trying to ma e cars as streamlined as possible to ma e it easier for the engine, yet they were restricting the layout of the interior for the car. After 11,2, the levels of aerodynamic drag went up because cars were becoming more family friendly and so as a conse=uence the shapes available to choose were more limited and so it was not possible to eep the low level of aerodynamic drag. 'he rectangular shape made cars more purposeful for the family and so it is fair to say that after 11,2 the designing of cars was to aid the lifestyle of larger families. Although this was a good thing for families, it didn"t ta e long before the issue of aerodynamics came bac into the picture in the form of fuel economy. &uring the 11.2"s there was a fuel crisis and so the demand for more economical cars became greater, which led to changes in car aerodynamics. &uring the 11.2"s there was a fuel crisis and so the demand for more economical cars became greater, which led to changes in car aerodynamics. If a car has poor aerodynamics then the engine has to do more wor to go the same distance as a car with better aerodynamics, so if the engine is wor ing harder it is going to need more fuel to allow the engine to do the wor , and therefore the car with the better aerodynamics uses less fuel than the other car. 'his =uic ly led to a public demand for cars with a lower aerodynamic drag in order to be more economical for the family.

Aerodynamics In Cars

'his diagram below shows the typical use of cars energy that it gets,

!ig #

Dnly about 1,B of the energy from the fuel you put in your tan gets used to move your car down the road or run useful accessories, such as air conditioning. 'he rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies and idling. 'herefore, the potential to improve fuel efficiency with advanced technologies is enormous. >ow a days almost all cars are manufactured aerodynamically , one misconception that everyone has is aerodynamics is all about going faster, in a way it is true but it is not all about speed, by designing the car aerodynamically we can reduce the friction that it encounters and there by power needed to overcome would be less thus fuel can be saved6 In the modern era where our fuel resources are fast depleting all the efforts are to find alternate sources of energy or to save our current resources or minimize the use of current resources li e fuels, so now a days aerodynamics are given very much importance as everyone li e to have a good loo ing , stylish and fuel efficient car.

Aerodynamics In Cars

Aerodynamics In Cars

STUDY OF AERODYNAMICS OF CARS

In order to improve the aerodynamics we must first now how the flow of air past a car, if we visualize a car moving through the air. As we all now, it ta es some energy to move the car through the air, and this energy is used to overcome a force called &rag.
DRAG

A simple definition of aerodynamics is the study of the flow of air around and through a vehicle, primarily if it is in motion. 'o understand this flow, you can visualize a car moving through the air. As we all now, it ta es some energy to move the car through the air, and this energy is used to overcome a force called &rag. &rag, in vehicle aerodynamics, is comprised primarily of two forces. !rontal pressure and rear vaccum. DRAG FORCE AT LOW SPEEDS 'he total drag force decreases, meaning that a car with a low drag force will be able to accelerate and travel faster than one with a high drag force. 'his means a smaller engine is re=uired to drive such a car, which means less consumption of fuel. CAR WEIGHT As with the parts inside the engine, when the entire car is made lighter, through the use of lighter materials or better designs, less force is re=uired to move the car. 'his is based on !7/A or more accurately, A7!9/, so as mass of the car decreases, the acceleration increases, or less force is re=uired to accelerate the lighter car.

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Aerodynamics In Cars FRONT END

!ig (

!rontal pressure is caused by the air attempting to flow around the front of the car. As millions of air molecules approach the front grill of the car, they begin to compress, and in doing so raise the air pressure in front of the car. At the same time, the air molecules traveling along the sides of the car are at atmospheric pressure, a lower pressure compared to the molecules at the front of the car. 'he compressed molecules of air naturally see a way out of the high pressure zone in front of the car, and they find it around the sides, top and bottom of the car. Improvements at the front can be made by ensuring the Efront end is made as a smooth, continuous curve originating from the line of the front bumper". /a ing the screen more ra ed 8ie. not as upright% Etends to reduce the pressure at the base of the screen, and to lower the drag". )owever, much of this improvement arrives because a more sloped screen means a softer angle at the top where it meets the roof, eeping flow attached. +imilar results can be achieved through a suitably curved roofs.

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Aerodynamics In Cars

'his graph clearly shows that drag force is directly proportional to frontal area.8results of wind tunnel tests%

!ig * REAR END 3ear vacuum 8a non<technical term, but very descriptive% is caused by the FholeF left in the air as the car passes through it. 'o visualize this, imagine a bus driving down a road. 'he bloc y shape of the bus punches a big hole in the air, with the air rushing around the body, as mentioned above. At speeds above a crawl, the space directly behind the bus is FemptyF or li e a vacuum. 'his empty area is a result of the air molecules not being able to fill the hole as =uic ly as the bus can ma e it. 'he air molecules attempt to fill in to this area, but the bus is always one step ahead, and as a result, a continuous vacuum suc s in the opposite direction of the bus. 'his inability to fill the hole left by the bus is technically called !low detachment .At the rear of vehicles, the ideal format is a long and gradual slope. As this is not practical, it has been found that Eraising and9or lengthening the boot generally reduces the drag@. In plan view, rounding corners and Eall 1#

Aerodynamics In Cars

forward facing elements" will reduce drag. Increases in curvature of the entire vehicle in plan will usually decrease drag provided that frontal area is not increased. E'apering the rear in plan view", usually from the rear wheel arch bac wards, Ecan produce a significant reduction in drag". Gnder the vehicle, a smooth surface is desirable as it can reduce both vehicle drag and surface friction drag. E!or a body in moderate pro5imity to the ground, the ideal shape would have some curvature on the underside."

!ig ,

!low detachment applies only to the Frear vacuumF portion of the drag e=uation, and it is really about giving the air molecules time to follow the contours of a carHs bodywor , and to fill the hole left by the vehicle, 'he reason eeping flow attachment is so important is that the force created by the vacuum far e5ceeds that created by frontal pressure, and this can be attributed to the 'urbulence created by the detachment.

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Aerodynamics In Cars !ig -

LIFT OR DOWNFORCE Dne term very often heard in race car circles is &own force. &own force is the same as the lift e5perienced by airplane wings, only it acts to press down, instead of lifting up. Avery object traveling through air creates either a lifting or down force situation. 3ace cars, of course use things li e inverted wings to force the car down onto the trac , increasing traction. 'he average street car however tends to create lift. 'his is because the car body shape itself generates a low pressure area above itself. !or a given volume of air, the higher the speed the air molecules are traveling, the lower the pressure becomes. $i ewise, for a given volume of air, the lower the speed of the air molecules, the higher the pressure becomes. 'his of course only applies to air in motion across a still body, or to a vehicle in motion, moving through still air. When we discussed !rontal Iressure, above that the air pressure was high as the air rammed into the front grill of the car. What is really happening is that the air slows down as it approaches the front of the car, and as a result more molecules are pac ed into a smaller space. Dnce the air +tagnates at the point in front of the car, it see s a lower pressure area, such as the sides, top and bottom of the car. >ow, as the air flows over the hood of the car, itHs loses pressure, but when it reaches the windscreen, it again comes up against a barrier, and briefly reaches a higher pressure. 'he lower pressure area above the hood of the car creates a small lifting force that acts upon the area of the hood 8+ort of li e trying to suc the hood off the car%. 'he higher pressure area in front of the windscreen creates a small 8or not so small% down force. 'his is a in to pressing down on the windshield. Where most road cars get into trouble is the fact that there is a large surface area on top of the carHs roof. As the higher pressure air in front of the wind screen travels over the windscreen, it accelerates, causing the pressure to drop. 'his lower pressure literally lifts on the carHs roof as the air passes over it. Worse still, once the air ma es itHs way to the rear window, the notch created by the window dropping down to the trun leaves a vacuum, or low pressure space that the air is not able to fill properly. 'he flow is said to detach and the resulting lower pressure creates lift that then acts upon the surface area of the trun . 1*

Aerodynamics In Cars

!ig . >ot to be forgotten, the underside of the car is also responsible for creating lift or down force. If a carHs front end is lower than the rear end, then the widening gap between the underside and the road creates a vacuum, or low pressure area, and therefore FsuctionF that e=uates to down force. 'he lower front of the car effectively restricts the air flow under the car. +o, as you can see, the airflow over a car is filled with high and low pressure areas, the sum of which indicate that the car body either naturally creates lift or down force.

Fig 8

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Aerodynamics In Cars

WINGS & SPOILERS

What this wings or spoilers does is it prevents the separation of flow and there by preventing the formation of vortices or helps to fill the vaccum in the rear end more effectively thus reducing drag. +o what actually this wings does is that, 'he wing wor s by differentiating pressure on the top and bottom surface of the wing. As mentioned previously, the higher the speed of a given volume of air, the lower the pressure of that air, and vice<versa. What a wing does is ma e the air passing under it travel a larger distance than the air passing over it 8in race car applications%. 4ecause air molecules approaching the leading edge of the wing are forced to separate, some going over the top of the wing, and some going under the bottom, they are forced to travel differing distances in order to F/eet upF again at the trailing edge of the wing. 'his is part of 4ernoulliHs theory. What happens is that the lower pressure area under the wing allows the higher pressure area above the wing to FpushF down on the wing, and hence the car itHs mounted to. 'he way a real, shaped wing wor s is essentially the same as an airplane wing, but itHs inverted. An airplane wing produces lift, a car wing produces negative lift or in other words what we call us, downforce. 'hat lift is generated by a difference in pressure on both sides of the wing. . 4ut how is the difference in pressure generatedJ Well, if you loo closely at the drawings, youHll see that the upper side of the wing is relatively straight, but the bottom side is curved. 'his means that the air that goes above the wing travels a relatively straight path, which is short. 'he air under the wing has to follow the curve, and hence travel a greater distance. >ow thereHs 4ernoulliHs law, which basically states that the total amount of energy in a volume of fluid has to remain constant. 8Gnless you heat it or e5pose an enclosed volume of it to some form of mechanical wor % If you assume the air doesnHt move up and down too much, it boils down to this; if air 8or any fluid, for that matter% speeds up, its pressure drops. !rom an energetic point of view, this ma es sense;

1- of the particles, thereHs less energy left do if more energy is needed to maintain the speed

Aerodynamics In Cars

>ow a days the aerodynamic studies are not constrained to the flow of air past cars but also a number of other factors li e new methods are developed to provide a greater level of detailed information. +pecial pressure sensitive paint is now used in the wind tunnel to graphically show levels of air pressure on a vehicle how it is done is that ,'wo different images are obtained, one at normal room air pressure 8wind<off% and a second in which the wind tunnel is running 8wind<on% at a desired test speed. 'hese differences in color, from wind<off to wind<on, are used to calculate surface pressure. A ban of blue lights illuminate the car to be tested that has pressure<sensitive paint applied on the driverHs side window. 'he car and lights are in a wind tunnel at !ord /otor CompanyHs &earborn Iroving Cround. !ord researchers have developed a computerized, pressure<sensitive paint techni=ue that measures airflow over cars, shaving wee s off current testing methods. A digital camera near the blue lights captures this information and feeds it into a computer, which displays the varying pressure as dramatically different colors on a monitor. 'he images obtained from tests in the wind tunnel are captured on computer. 'hey can then be used to study air flow patterns across a vehicle, highlighting areas of possible refinement or improvement. Additionally, actual data from a production ready model can be compared with pre<production computer predictions which can in turn help improve the accuracy of the early design stages.

SOFTWARES
>ow a days a large number of software"s are developed for the analysis and optimization of aerodynamics in automobiles. Aarlier times the cars were wor ed directly on wind tunnels where they prepared different shapes or cross sections and tested upon the cars, during those times it was not possible to test the for small areas that is for a small part of front area etc there testing were made for the entire cross sections, 4ut with the introduction of computational fluid dynamics i.e. the use of computers to analyze fluid flows where the entire area is divided in to grids and each grid is analyzed and suitable algorithms are developed to solve the e=uations of motion.4ased on C!& large number of software"s are developed for the design and analyzing aerodynamics the 1.

Aerodynamics In Cars

most commonly used software"s are A>+K+,CA'IA. )ere are some of the features of commonly used software Alias surface studio ALIAS SURFACE AND AUTO STUDIO Alias +urface +tudio is a technical surfacing product designed for the development surfaces. It offers advanced modeling and reverse engineering tools, real< time diagnostics and scan data processing technology. +urface +tudio is comprised of a complete suite of tools for creating surface models to meet the high levels of =uality, accuracy and precision re=uired in automotive styling. 'his software performs all the basics of design right from the s etching to evaluation. Features: 1 User I!tera"t#$! A user interface that enables creativity and efficiency % S&et"'#!( A complete set of tools for #& design wor tightly integrated into a (& modeling environment ) %D * )D I!te(rat#$! 'a e advantage of your s etching s ills throughout the design process. Add details and e5plore ideas =uic ly by s etching over (& forms before ta ing the time to model them. *% M$+e,#!( Industry<leading, >G34+<based surface modeler. ,% A+-a!"e+ Aut$.$t#-e Sur/a"#!( T$$,s +urface creation tools that maintain positional, tangent or curvature continuity between surfaces < for high =uality, manufacturability results. -% Re-erse E!(#!eer#!( 'ools for importing and configuring cloud data sets from scanners for visualizing, as well as e5tracting feature lines and building surfaces based on cloud data.

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Aerodynamics In Cars

.% E-a,uat#$! T$$,s 'ools to analyze and evaluate the styling and physical properties of curves and surfaces interactively, while creating and editing geometry. 0 Re!+er#!( Create photorealistic images using te5tures, colours, highlights, shadows, reflections and bac grounds. 1 A!#.at#$! Animations can be used for high =uality design presentations, design analysis of mechanisms, motion and ergonomic studies, manufacturing or assembly simulation. 12 DataI!te(rat#$! +upport for industry<standard data formats and a wide range of peripheral devices.'hese software"s are now commonly in use as wind tunnel testing is an e5pensive process as compared to this software"s where we get more accurate and easily the test results.

AERODYNAMIC DESIGN TIPS

3% Leep the vehicle low to the ground, with a low nose, and pay attention to the angle of wind shield. 3% Cover the wheel wells, Dpen wheels create a great deal of drag and air flow turbulence 3% Anclose the under carriage 8avoid open areas<convertibles, etc.% 3% /a e corners round instead of sharp 3% 'he underbody should be as smooth and continuous as possible, and should sweep out slightly at rear. 3% 'here should be no sharp angles 8e5cept where it is necessary to avoid crosswind instability %. 3% 'he front end should start at a low stagnation line, and curve up in a continuous line.

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Aerodynamics In Cars 3% 'he front screen should be ra ed as much as is practical. 3 % All body panels should have a minimal gap. 3% Clazing should be flush with the surface as much as possible. 3% All details such as door handles should be smoothly integrated within the contours. 3% /inor items such as wheel trims and wing mirrors should be optimized using wind tunnel testing. 3 Gsing spoilers or wings. FOR A VEHICLE YOU ALREADY OWN

M Leep your vehicle washed and wa5ed. 'his reduces s in friction. M 3emove mud flaps from behind the wheels. M Add a spoiler to the front fender or the rear of the car. )aving it on the front fender reduces air flow beneath the car, while having it behind will decrease the low pressure behind the car and reduce drag. M Close your windows, put your top up, and close your sun roof. All at onceN M Avoid having roof<rac s and carriers on your car. M !or pic ups; cover the bac , ta e the gate off, or at least leave the gate open. Air gets trapped in the bed and causes major drag. M Ilace your license plate out of the air flow

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Aerodynamics In Cars

CONCLUSION

Aarlier cars were poorly designed with heavy engines , protruding parts and rectangular +hapes due to which they consumed large =uantities of fuel and and became unaffordable all theses factors lead to the development and need of aerodynamics in the design of cars now it would be fair to say that all most all cars are tested for getting the optimum aerodynamic configuration.

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Aerodynamics In Cars

REFERENCES
BOO4S 1% 3oad :ehicle Aerodynamic &esign , 4arnard 3.). #% Introduction to Aerodynamics by Anderson. WEBSITES 1% www.wi ipedia.com #% www.cardesignonline.com

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Aerodynamics In Cars

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