Vehicle Body Engineering and Safety

UNIT- 3 VEHICLE AERODYNAMICS

This study concerns about the airflow around the vehicle body. At a speed of about 70 km/hr
aerodynamic drag exceeds to 50% of total resistance to motion and above 100 km/hr it is the most
important factor.
Aerodynamic Drag
Form drag - 57%
Lift drag - 8%
Surface drag -10%
Interference drag -15%
Cooling and ventilation drag - 10%
Aerodynamic forces and moments
Forces
1. Lift force
2. Side force or cross wind force
3. Drag force
Moments
1. Rolling moment
2. pitching moment
3. Yawing moment
Optimization Technique
1. Modification of Fore body
2. Modification of windshield
3. Modification of Roof
4. Modification of vehicle rear end

Wind tunnel and Flow visualization test

It is the most useful tool to study the aerodynamic aspects of the vehicle. The various forces and
moments can be evaluated for the vehicle by using scale models. The instrument used to measure the
forces and moments is called a component balance. Flow pattern can be obtained by using smoke
method, Tuft or Oil coating methods.
Advantages of wind tunnel test
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1. Wind velocity and wind angle can be easily and accurately measured.
2. Flow pattern study can also be made accurately.
3. Forces and moments can be measured simultaneously.
4. Testing time and cost is less.
BUS BODY DETAILS
Types of Bus body
1. Classic or Normal control bus
2. Single deck bus
3. Split level
4. Double Decker
5. Two level single Decker
6. Articulated bus
1. Classic or Normal control bus
This type of bus has the engine in front of the passenger carrying compartment. This design which
has almost universal at one time has practically disappear and is mainly of historical interest.
2. Single Ducker
The single deck bus is almost universal today as this layout eliminates all the disadvantages of above
type.
3. Split level
It is intermediate solution between single and double ducker. It having More seats than single ducker
and more stability than Double Ducker.
4. Double Decker
These vehicles have more number of seats for a given overall length but tability is not so high
compared to single ducker.
5. Two level single Decker
It is used for luxury coaches. This layout provides good forward visibility for all passengers. good
luggage space and easy installation of an under floor or rear engine.
6. Articulated bus
Bodies for very large coaches or in particular city buses are often made in two parts because of axial
load limitations

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Classification of bus by Passenger capacity

1. Micro bus
2. Small coaches for long distance
3. Small buses for towns
4. Medium coaches for long distance
5. Medium buses for towns
6. Large coaches for long distances
7. Large buses for towns
8. Very large buses for towns
Body design aspects
1. Floor height
Shaping of the frame allows the body to be lowered. The floor should be placed as low down as
possible so that the distance of center of gravity from the road surface is as small as possible.
2. Power plant location
1. Engine behind the front axle
2. Engine above front axle
3. Engine in front of front axle
4. Engine at rear
5. Engine at under floor
3. Location of Entrance and Exit
Construction details
Frame construction
1. Chassis preparation
2. Side and front framing
3. Roof framing and rear end
4. Truss panel riveted
5. General inspection
6. Flooring and interior lining
7. Roof panels
8. Panelling and moulding
9. Final finishing
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Double skin construction

All metal bodies or composite bodies are adopted for bus body construction. In composite body
construction wood is used considerably in between metal member and outside panels. Double skin
construction is also being adopted. Normally inner skin will take part in load carrying and outer skin
will be fixed in such a way that it can be replaced easily.
Types of metal sections used
1. Curved section
2. Channel section
3. Angle section
4. Zed section
5. Corner pillar section
6. Drip rail section
Regulations
There are nothing but laws regarding the length, height, width, window height and width, door height
and width, front overhang and rear overhang, roof height from the floor etc.
Conventional and integral type construction
Conventional design
The conventional chassis building involves in building up of a ladder type frame with two long side
members interconnected by cross members at intervals. The units like engine, gear box, radiator,
axles, steering wheel, fuel tank are mounted on the frame.
Integral design
In the integral bus construction, the base structure is formed by building a structure with four long
side members, cross members out-riggers and wheel arch supports, units like engine, gear box, axles
etc. These are mounded on the flexible under structure, which is fabricated by welding
Automotive aerodynamics is the study of the aerodynamics of road vehicles. Its main goals are
reducing drag and wind noise, minimizing noise emission, and preventing undesired lift forces
and other causes of aerodynamic instability at high speeds. For some classes of racing vehicles, it
may also be important to produce down force to improve traction and thus cornering abilities.
It's unpleasant to think about, but imagine what would happen if you drove your car into a brick
wall at 65 miles per hour (104.6 kilometers per hour). Metal would twist and tear. Glass would

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 Vehicle Body Engineering and Safety

shatter. Airbags would burst forth to protect you. But even with all the advancements in safety
we have on our modern automobiles, this would likely be a tough accident to walk away from. A
car simply isn't designed to go through a brick wall.
But there is another type of "wall" that cars are designed to move through, and have been for a
long time -- the wall of air that pushes against a vehicle at high speeds.
Most of us don't think of air or wind as a wall. At low speeds and on days when it's not very
windy outside, it's hard to notice the way air interacts with our vehicles. But at high speeds, and
on exceptionally windy days, air resistance (the forces acted upon a moving object by the air --
also defined as drag) has a tremendous effect on the way a car accelerates, handles and achieves
fuel mileage.
This where the science of aerodynamics comes into play. Aerodynamics is the study of forces
and the resulting motion of objects through the air. For several decades, cars have been designed
with aerodynamics in mind, and carmakers have come up with a variety of innovations that make
cutting through that "wall" of air easier and less of an impact on daily driving.
Essentially, having a car designed with airflow in mind means it has less difficulty accelerating
and can achieve better fuel economy numbers because the engine doesn't have to work nearly as
hard to push the car through the wall of air.
Engineers have developed several ways of doing this. For instance, more rounded designs and
shapes on the exterior of the vehicle are crafted to channel air in a way so that it flows around the
car with the least resistance possible. Some high-performance cars even have parts that move air
smoothly across the underside of the car. Many also include a spoiler -- also
known as a rear wing -- to keep the air from lifting the car's wheels and making it unstable at
high speeds. Although, as you'll read later, most of the spoilers that you see on cars are simply
for decoration more than anything else.
In this article, we'll look at the physics of aerodynamics and air resistance, the history of how
cars have been designed with these factors in mind and how with the trend toward "greener" cars,
aerodynamics is now more important than ever.

Vehicle Aerodynamic Factors

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Aerodynamic Forces
Laminar Separation
Tripping of Boundary Layer
Pressure Distribution
Wake
Tires
Glass and Trim
General Improvements
Unconventional Features

Aerodynamic Forces
Lift force
Drag force
Side force

Effects of aerodynamic forces are profound

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Force coefficients

Aerodynamic down force

o Opposite of lift in direction
o Uses an inverted airfoil

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o Increases load on tires without increasing the vehicle‘s weight (up to 10% of
vehicle‘s weight)
o Improves cornering performance with no weight penalty
o First discovered in 1960s!

Example of Downward Force

Example
o Rear Spoiler (Mazda RX-7 R-2)
o CD = 0.31 (0.29 without spoiler)
o CL front = 0.10 (0.16 without spoiler)
o CL rear = 0.08 (0.08 without spoiler)

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Underbody improvements
o Aerodynamic properties
o Reduce drag
o Increase down force

Laminar Separation

Laminar Separation

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 Vehicle Body Engineering and Safety

o Flow separation inside the boundary layer

Laminar Bubble

o Streamlines enclosed within the laminar separation

Laminar bubble area is sensitive and can easily separate, resulting in excess

drag

Can appear in low Re range (104-105), and disappear as speed increases,

causing severe discrepancies in flow visualization and analysis

The rear end shape is the most critical factor in lowering the drag coefficient

Flow separation above the rear window can cause annoying dirt deposits on

the glass

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Introduction of aerodynamic disturbances

o Fins
o Vortex generators
o Strips of coarse sand paper
Forcing laminar to turbulent flow
Drag reduction due to delay in the onset of flow separation
Pressure Distribution
Helps the placement of inlets and outlets
o Lower pressure at the outlet
o Higher pressure at the inlet
Favorable pressure distribution
Prevents flow separation
Unfavorable pressure distribution
o Promotes flow separation
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 Vehicle Body Engineering and Safety

o Promotes turbulent flow within boundary layer

Example of inlet

Radiator inlet configurations

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Tires
Tires influence a vehicle‘s aerodynamic properties
o Cross sectional area
o Frontal area
o Rotation of tires

Effects of tire rotation

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General Improvements

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 Vehicle Body Engineering and Safety

1. Front spoiler
2. Ducted engine cooling
3. Shrouded windshield wiper arms
4. Aerodynamic mirrors
5. Smooth windshield transitions
6. Smooth side window transitions
7. Smooth rear window transition
8. Optimized trunk corner radii
9. Optimized lower rear panel
10. 10 - Smooth fuel tank and underbody
11. Optimized rocker panels
12. Flush wheel covers
13. Elimination of the rain gutter

Heave Pitch, Roll, Warp and Yaw -In order to study the response of the car to control inputs or
disturbances, it is necessary to combine more than one coordinate system to fix the position of
the components in space. The convention for the complete car has been taken from aeronautics
with an Earth-Fixed axis system XYZ as shown in the diagram. The car has its own axis notation
xyz. the suspension pick up points related to a z axis O-Line plane for the base of the chassis
(this may not be the lowest point on the car). The x axis often points rearwards and is normally
related to a front bulkhead. The y axis is lateral from the centre line. Note that the z axis origin is
not at the ground plane, and there is no rake to the z plane. These coordinates must be related to
the Earth-Fixed system before handling analysis can take place.

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Yaw
The yaw allows the vehicle to move towards the left or right while in motion. The movement is
done about a vertical axis
Pitch
The pitch refers to the movement of the vehicle‘s nose either up or down.
Roll
Roll is known as the rising or dipping of the vehicle.

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