WHAT IS IT?

The study of forces and the resulting motion of objects through the air or the study of the flow of air around and through an object.

DRAG
A mechanical force caused by an object moving through a fluid (liquid or gas) The solid body must be in contact with the fluid There must be motion between the object and the fluid It is a vector quantity having both a magnitude and direction acting in a direction opposite to the moving object

FLOW DETACHMENT
Once the air makes it's way to the rear window, the notch created by the window dropping down to the trunk leaves a vacuum. As a result, a continuous vacuum sucks in the opposite direction. the resulting lower pressure creates lift that then acts upon the surface area of the trunk

COEFFICIENT OF DRAG
Drag

= d CD A XV2

Where d = density of air,

V=velocity of object relative to air,

A= cross section of frontal area CD = coefficient of drag Measure of aerodynamic efficiency.

REDUCTION OF DRAG IN MODERN CARS

LIFT AND DOWNFORCE

Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of an object and holds it in the air. Lift occurs when a solid object turns a moving flow of gas A negative lift causes downforce, which is the force that acts to push an object closer to the ground Lift and downforce are basically the same except that downforce acts downward and lift acts upward

STREAMLINES OF ROAD CARS

AERODYNAMIC DEVICES
FRONT WINGS

CANARDS

FRONT SPLITTER

REAR DIFFUSER

CHASSIS

SIDE SKIRTS

VORTEX GENERATORS

REAR WING

SPOILERS

DRAG REDUCTION SYSTEM

METHODS FOR EVALUATING AERODYNAMCIS OF CARS

WIND TUNNELS
A wind tunnel is a research tool developed to assist with studying the effects of air moving over or around solid objects.

Softwares like
ANSIS, CATIA, ALIAS

APPLYING AERODYNAMICS
To appreciate the importance of aerodynamics as applied to motor vehicles it must be realized that, as driving speeds increase, the power needed to overcome air drag multiplies at a very rapid rate As an example, let us apply this formula to a car whose engine has to generate 18 HP to overcome the air drag at 80 km/h The power needed to double the speed to 160 km is shown in the following example. This is eight times the power needed to travel at 80 km

AERODYNAMICS DESIGN TIPS

COVER OPEN WHEELS MINIMIZE FRONTAL AREA USE SPOILERS USE WINGS USE FRONT AIR LAMPS RAKE THE CHASSIS

FOR A VEHICLE YOU ALREADY OWN

KEEP YOUR VEHICLE WASHED AND WAXED

REMOVE MUD FLAPS FROM BEHIND THE

WHEELS

ADD A SPOILER AVOID HAVING ROOF RACKS AND CARRIERS ON YOUR CAR

PUT YOUR LICENSE PLATE OUT OF THE AIR FLOW

CONCLUSION