Vehicle aerodynamics aims to reduce drag and minimize noise emission from vehicles. Drag accounts for 40-60% of energy used for vehicles moving through air. Reducing drag can improve fuel efficiency. Vehicle aerodynamics studies flow around body, components, and passenger compartment. Approaches include streamlining shapes based on airships and airplanes. Drag is reduced by decreasing pressure drag on front and rear ends through rounding edges and tapering. Shear stresses on sides and underbody are reduced through smoothing surfaces. Wind tunnels are used to test scale models and study air flow.

1. Basics Of Vehicle Aerodynamics
Sant Longowal Institute Of Engg. & Technology
(Deemed University)
Presented By:-
Aikam Sharma
Shubham Kumar
Abhijeet Singh
Submitted To:-
Prof. Md. Majid

2. • Aerodynamics is the way air moves around things.
• Study of the properties of moving air and the interaction between the air
and solid bodies moving through it.
Aerodynamics
Automotive Aerodynamics
• Study of the Aerodynamics of road vehicles
• Aims at reducing drag,wind noise,minimizing noise
emission, and preventing undesired lift forces

3. Drag on a moving Vehicle
• At speed of 40-50Kmph 40% of energy is used in moving
vehicle though air
• Over coming drag can use upto 60% of fuel at cruising
Drag
• Drag is a force that tries to slow something down.

4. Objectives of improvement of flow past vehicle bodies:
• Reduction of fuel consumption
• More favourable comfort characteristics (mud deposition
on body, noise, ventilating and cooling of passenger
compartment)
• Improvement of driving characteristics (stability,
handling)
Influence Of Flow Characteristics On The Operation Of
Vehicles
Vehicle Aerodynamics Includes Three Interacting Flow
Fields:
• flow past vehicle body
• flow past vehicle components (wheels, heat exchanger,
brakes, windshield)
• flow in passenger compartment

5. Approaches In Vehicle Aerodynamics
• 1900-1920 Adaptation of
shapes from other fields
Airship
Torpedo
Boot

6. Approaches In Vehicle Aerodynamics 2
1920-1970 Adaptation of results of airplane and airship
development: streamlining
Járay experimental cars

7. Air Resistance
• Air resistance= Cd × Area × V2
Cd is Drag coefficient
Area represents the frontal area
V is relative velocity of vehicle and fluid (here air)

9. Change of drag coefficient of cars
v2
A
Airresistance+99 
Drag coefficient

10. Characteristics of flow past vehicle bodies
Classification of flow
field: Flow past Vehicle
Body
• front,
• side walls and roof,
• in underbody gap,
• behind the rear wall (wake).

11. Aerodynamic forces and viscosity
In case of inviscid flow =0 (no shear
the resultant
of pressure forces is 0. (In case of cylinder
symmetrical flow field.)
So Faer = 0
A
stresses exist) and  p dA  0
In case of viscous flow   0 (shear
(the
resultant of pressure fA
orces is different
from 0). In case of cylinder non-
symmetrical flow field.
So Faer  0
stresses exist) and  p dA  0

12. Cause of drag forces at streamlined and bluff
bodies
Streamlined bodies are
characterized by attached flow.
The share of pressure forces in
drag force (component of
aerodynamic force parallel to
undisturbed flow) is small. Drag is
caused mainly by shear stresses.
Since shear forces are small cD is
relatively small.
Bluff bodies are characterized by
boundary layer separation and
separation bubbles. Drag is caused
mainly by pressure forces, since
p-p0  cD is relatively big.

13. Components of the drag of a brick shaped
bluff body and their reduction
Drag
type
% of
cD
Caused by Way of reduction and measures
Forebody
drag
65% Overpressure
on the
front face
Reduction of overpressure by
accelerating the flow: rounding up of
upper horizontal and vertical leading
edges, slanting the front face
Base
drag
34.9% Depression on
the rear end
Increase of pressure: boat-tailing,
tapering the rear part of the body,
rounding up of trailing edges
Side wall,
roof and
under-
body drag
0.1% Shear stresses
over the walls,
roof and
underbody
Decrease of shear stresses: reduction of
roughness, decrease of the velocity in the
underbody gap

14. Reduction of forebody drag (decrease of overpressure on the
front) 1
Rounding up of upper
horizontal leading edge
Rounding up of vertical
leading edges

15. Reduction of forebody drag (decrease of
overpressure on the front) 2
Changing the shape of the front end
Conclusions:
a) The most significant drag reduction can be achieved by
rounding up the vertical and upper horizontal leading
edges on the front face.
b) Relatively small amendments can result considerable
drag reduction.

16. Reduction of base drag (increase of pressure on the
rear end) 1
Curvature of streamlines
indicates depression
Tapering the rear end (boat tailing) results in
considerable drag reduction

17. Reduction of side wall, roof and underbody drag
(decrease of shear stresses)
Conclusions
a)Roof and side wall drag can be reduced by reduction
of roughness of the wall (no protruding parts, frames)
b)Underbody drag can be reduced by reducing the
roughness (covering) and reducing the velocity in
underbody gap (tight underbody gap, front spoiler )

18. Wind Tunnel
Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how air
interacts with vehicles. NASA uses wind tunnels to test scale
models of aircraft and spacecraft. Some wind tunnels are big
enough to hold full-size versions of vehicles. The wind
tunnel moves air around an object, making it seem like the object
is really flying.

19. Demonstrations

22. Conclusion
Optimisation of vehicle bodies results in
• considerable reduction of fuel consumption
• improvement of comfort characteristics and
• more favourable driving characteristics of
ground vehicles.