Numerical Simulation Approach to Investigate the Effects of External Modifications in Reducing Aerodynamic Drag on Passenger Vehicles

Mostofa Sadat; Nayef Albab; Faria Chowdhury; Mohammad Muhshin Aziz Khan

doi:10.15282/ijame.19.1.2022.19.0738

Authors

M. Sadat Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Kumargaon, Sylhet – 3114, Bangladesh
N. Albab Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Kumargaon, Sylhet – 3114, Bangladesh
F. Chowdhury Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Kumargaon, Sylhet – 3114, Bangladesh
M.M.A. Khan Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Kumargaon, Sylhet – 3114, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/ijame.19.1.2022.19.0738

Keywords:

Aerodynamic drag; Side view mirrors; Wheel covers; Numerical simulation; Drag reduction

Abstract

This study used a numerical simulation approach to examine the effects of external modifications in reducing aerodynamic drag on passenger vehicles. During the simulation, modifications included reducing mirror size by replacing the side mirrors with cameras and covering the wheel area. The resulting changes in drag force for different combinations of modifications were compared with a conventional baseline model to determine the most aerodynamic configuration. The study found that side view cameras reduced drag forces by almost 2.6% due to their smaller frontal areas and improvement in the overall aerodynamics of the vehicle. Besides, an increase in wheel coverage decreased the drag causing up to 2.7% of drag force reduction for a wheel with an 87% coverage area. This is because of the reduction in wake formation caused by the wheel rims. Finally, using a combination of smaller cameras and wheels with larger coverage areas resulted in a maximum drag reduction of about 4.3%.