Literature Review

1.1 Computational Fluid Dynamics:

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is one of the branches of fluid mechanics that uses
numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. CFD
provides numerical solutions to the governing equations of fluid dynamics throughout the
desired flow region. It allows for complex problems to be solved without losing the integrity
of the problem due to over-simplification.
These basic assumptions that are applicable to any flow of the fluid are:
1) Mass is conserved.
2) Newton’s second law F = ma.
3) Energy is conserved.

CFD replaces these equations with numbers and advances them in space and/or time to obtain
a final numerical description of the complete flow field of interest. As a result, CFD is able to
simulate such flow patterns that would be expensive, time consuming or impossible to
investigate with the use of traditional methods, e.g. wind tunnel testing. However, CFD is not
100% reliable, because the equations that are utilised for simulations cannot represent the flow
fully, although they can provide the results of the general characteristics of the flow therefore,
prior to performing real life testing, CFD can be used to modify different flow parameters to
obtain the desirable results, thus reducing costs and time spent on testing.

There are several components that are needed to perform CFD simulations. Firstly, an analyst
is needed to state the problem to be solved. Secondly, the fluid flow has to be expressed
mathematically. Thirdly, the computer code, known as software, is needed that embodies these
equations and provides detailed instructions (algorithms) to the computer hardware that would
perform the actual calculations. And finally the analyst to inspect and interpret the simulation
results.
 Figure CFD solving steps

1.2 Fluid Mechanics

By definition, a fluid is a substance which deforms continuously under the action of shearing
forces, however small they may be. Fluids can be described by several different parameters,
for example, density, viscosity, etc.
The density for the material is defined as its mass per unit volume and it depends on the
pressure and temperature. Density has a direct relationship with the compressibility that is
known as the variation of density due to changes of pressure and temperature. Air flow
compressibility is very important at the speed of sound (330 m/s = 1225 km/h = 765.6 mph) as
variations in pressure and temperatures are very high, however normal road vehicles travel at
the speed much lower than the speed of sound, therefore the variations in pressure and
temperature are small thus air flow can be considered incompressible.
Another parameter that can be used to describe a fluid is viscosity, which is caused by the
molecular friction between the fluid particles. There are two types of viscosity dynamic and
kinematic. Dynamic viscosity depends on the temperature, while kinematic viscosity depends
on pressure and temperature
The parameters mentioned above describe the properties of the fluid, however it is very
important to understand the type of the flow in order to represent it in the best possible way.
The air flow around the vehicle is an external flow. External flow creates boundary layer on
the body surface, which is a few millimeters thick, where the flow is viscid (laminar), however
beyond the boundary layer the flow is in viscid (turbulent). The velocity of the flow is zero at
the surface of the body. When performing CFD simulations, it is crucial to take into account
the effect of the boundary layer to improve the accuracy and representation of the real-life
conditions. In order to do so, different CFD packages offer alternative options for specifying
the boundary conditions of the object

Figure Boundary Layer Representation

1.3 Forces
Drag Force:
The force a flowing fluid exerts on a body in the flow direction is called drag. The drag force
is due to the combined effects of pressure and wall shear forces in the flow direction. Drag
force due to the combine effects of the wall shear stress and pressure forces is define by
equation,
𝐹𝑑 = 1⁄2 Cd 𝜌A𝑉 2
Where, Cd is the drag coefficient, ρ is the density of air, V is the velocity, and A is the cross-
sectional area. Aerodynamic drag consists of two main components: skin friction drag and
pressure drag. Pressure drag accounts for more than 80% of the total drag and it is highly
dependent on vehicle geometry due to boundary layer separation from rear window surface and
formation of wake region behind the vehicle.
Coefficient of drag:

Figure Drag Coefficient for different Bodies

The drag coefficient is a common measure of aerodynamic efficiency in automotive design.

The drag coefficient is a unit less value that denotes how much an object resists movement
through a fluid such as water or air.
Hence, the coefficient of drag must have low value which leads to low drag force and ultimately
increases aerodynamic efficiency of car.

Drag Force due to Frontal pressure:

This drag force is caused by the air attempting to flow around the front of the car. When Air
molecules approach the front of the car they begin to compress and raise the air pressure in
front of car. Frontal pressure is reduced by minimizing exposed frontal surface area and making
front end smooth, continuous curve originating from the line of front bumper allowing the air
molecules to pass smoothly.

Figure Frontal Pressure on Car Body

Drag Force due to Rear Vacuum:

Rear vacuum is caused by the flow detachment in the air flow as the car passes through it. Flow
Detachment is inability of air molecules to fill the empty zones which are created at the rear
end of vehicle.
Which results in continuous vacuum zone in the opposite direction of Vehicle motion in the
rear area. Drag forces are increases due to turbulence in the rear end which is caused due to
flow detachment.

Figure Flow detachment on rear side of Car

Lift or Down Force:

Every object traveling through air creates either a lifting or down force situation. Down force
is the same as the lift experienced by airplane wings, only the difference is, it acts to press
down, instead of lifting up.
It is calculated as
FL= 1⁄2CLdV2A
where, CL is the lift coefficient, d is the density of air, V is the velocity and A is the cross-
sectional area.
For a given volume of air, the higher the speed of air molecules, the lower is the pressure and
vice-versa. This creates low pressure over hood, roof and trunk which increases the chances of
rise of vehicle.

Figure Drag, Lift and Downforce over body flow

Stream Line:
A stream line is an imaginary line drawn in a flow field such that a tangent drawn at any
point on this line represents the direction of the velocity vector.

Vorticity:
Vorticity is the measurement of rotation of a fluid particle. Specifically Vorticity is equal to
twice the angular velocity of the fluid particle. For the racing car and other high speed
aerodynamic vehicles, vorticity has larger effect. Vorticity is created by leakage of flow from
high-pressure side to low-pressure side.
1.4 Aerodynamic devices in car
Wings
Probably the most popular form of aerodynamic device is the wing. Wings perform very
efficiently and generating lots of down force in the car. The wings works by differentiating
pressure on the top and bottom surface. Air molecules approaching the leading edge of the
wings are forced to travel different distances over and below the wings which results in lower
pressure area under the wing and allows the higher pressure area above the wing to "push"
down on the wing, and hence the car is stable during high speed.

Figure Effect of wing

Spoilers
They act like barriers to air flow, in order to build up higher air pressure in front of the trunk
of car. It is mostly used in race cars which are lighter in rear end because low pressure created
above the trunk which lifts the rear end of car.
Hence spoilers are used to create high pressure that pushes down the car and also it gives
stability at corners
 Figure Effect of spoiler

Scoops

Figure Effect of scoops

Scoops, or positive pressure intakes consist of the air box which has an opening that permits
an adequate volume of air to directly enter. Its main function is to provide high pressure, denser
and adequate volume of outside air directly into the engine compartment.
Front air dam
A Front air dam is used to prevent air from flowing underneath a vehicle. It does this by
creating a “dam” or wall across the front of the vehicle that extends close down to the road
and usually along the sides to some extent. This creates an area of vacuum or low pressure
underneath the car as shown in diagram below. This low pressure area, in combination with
the higher pressures above the front and top of the vehicle, generates down force at the front
of the vehicle.

Figure Effect of frontal air dam

 CARS WITH LEAST COEFFICIENT OF DRAG

12. Audi A6: 2011-present (Cd 0.26)

11. BMW i8: 2014 (Cd 0.26)
10. Mazda3 Sedan: 2012-present (Cd 0.26)
9. Mercedes-Benz B-Class: 2012-present (Cd 0.26)
8. Nissan GT-R, 2011 present (Cd 0.26)
7. Peugeot 508, 2011 present (Cd 0.25)
6. Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, 2013-present (Cd 0.25)
5. Toyota Prius, 2010-present (Cd 0.25)
4. Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 2014 present (Cd 0.24)
3. Tesla Model S: 2012-present (Cd 0.24)
2. Mercedes-Benz CLA: 2013 present (Cd 0.22)
1. Volkswagen XL1: 2013-present (Cd 0.19)

Figure Volkswagen XL1

The visionary goal of Volkswagen, stated at the beginning of 2000, was to bring a production
car to the market that would be practical in everyday use with fuel consumption of one litre per
100 km. And recently Volkswagen has unveiled the XL1 2014, a car of the future, built for
today. The car combines high-tech lightweight design (795 kg) and tremendous efficiency:
perfect aerodynamics (Cd 0.189) and a low centre of gravity make it an automotive hero
following pure sports car design principles. The XL1 is the most aerodynamic production car
ever: 3,888 mm long, 1,665 mm wide and just 1,153 mm tall, just to compare a purebred sports
car like today’s Porsche Boxster is 129 mm taller (1,282 mm). The plug-in hybrid system –
consisting of a two-cylinder TDI engine (35 kW / 48 PS), E-motor (20 kW / 27 PS), 7-speed
dual clutch gearbox (DSG) and lithium-ion battery – all make it possible for the vehicle to emit
just 21 g/km of CO2. The XL1, with a top speed of 160 km/h, can accelerate to 100 km/h in
just 12,7 seconds. It is also the most fuel-efficient production car in the world, with a record
fuel consumption value of 0.9 l/100 km. The two-seater can also cover a distance of up to 50
km in all-electric mode and therefore with zero local emissions. In all-electric mode, the XL1
requires less than 0.1 kWh to cover a driving distance of over one kilometer. The body concept
delivers more everyday utility than the two previous prototypes: in the L1 presented in 2002
and in 2009 a driver and a passenger sat in a tandem arrangement for optimal aerodynamics, in
the XL1 two occupants sit slightly offset, almost as in a conventional vehicle.
TUTORIAL AND PRACTISE OF AERODYNAMIC ANALYSIS ON CONCEPT
MODEL

Figure Concept model practice