ANALYSIS OF AUTOMOTIVE

AERODYNAMICS IN CARS

ANIRUDHAN.J
S7 ME A
ROLL NO:15563

1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION

2 CAR AERODYNAMIC BASICS

3 AERODYNAMIC DEVICES

4 DESIGN TIPS FOR AERODYNAMICS

5 AERODYNAMIC TESTING

6 RECENT INNOVATIONS

7 CONCLUSION

8 INFERENCE

9 REFERENCE

2
 INTRODUCTION
• The study of the aerodynamics of road vehicles.
• Main goals are:
1. reducing drag and wind noise
2. minimizing noise emission
3. preventing undesired lift forces
4. aerodynamic instability at high speeds
• For some classes of racing vehicles, to produce downforce
to improve traction and thus cornering abilities.
3
CAR AERODYNAMIC BASICS
● Drag:
 Drag is the force of wind or air resistance pushing in
the opposite direction to the motion of the vehicle
 Drag, in vehicle aerodynamics, is comprised primarily
of three forces:
 Frontal pressure
 Rear vacuum
 Boundary layer

4
Frontal Pressure
○ caused by the air attempting to flow around the front of
the vehicle

Boundary Layer
○ The effect of friction created by slow moving air at the
surface of the vehicle body.
Rear Vacuum
○ Rear vacuum is called Flow detachment

5
6
● Frontal Area

• The frontal area defines the size of the hole the vehicle
makes in the air as it drives through it.

7
Lift/Downforce

● It acts to press down instead of lifting up.

According to Bernoulli’s principle, for a given volume of air,

the higher the velocity the air molecules are travelling, the
lower the pressure becomes.

8
AERODYNAMIC DEVICES
● Means to take advantage of airflow around a vehicle.
● Increase the effectiveness of airflows within the body of the
vehicle, such as those feeding a radiator or engine.
Scoops/Positive pressure intakes:
• positive pressure intakes,
• provide a mild “Ram Air” or
“Supercharging” effect to a
combustion engine.

9
SPOILERS
● Spoilers are used primarily to increase the down force.

10
● Front Air Dam

○ A Front air dam is used to prevent air from flowing

underneath a vehicle.
○ This creates an area of vacuum or low pressure
underneath the car.

11
AERODYNAMICS DESIGN TIPS
● Cover open wheels.
● Minimize Frontal area.

● Coverage Body work slowly.

● Use spoilers.
● Use wings.
● Use Front air dams.

12
 Recent innovations in aerodynamic design
● Mass Damper
○ Known as harmonic
absorber,
○ Is a device mounted
in structures to
prevent discomfort,
damage or outright
structural failure by
vibration. 13
 DRS (Drag Reduction
System)

● It’s an aerodynamic system

designed to increase passing
at 2 or 3 points per track

● The drag reduction system (or

DRS) is a form of driver-
adjustable body work aimed at
reducing drag
14
● Diffuser
○ A shaped section of the car
underbody which improves
the car's aerodynamic
properties.
○ The diffuser itself
accelerates the flow in front
of it, which helps generate
downforce.

15
 Characteristics influences:
● Velocity-Pressure
Relationship
● Area ratio and diffuser
length
● Diffuser angle

16
Ground Effect Diffuser

17
AERODYNAMIC TESTING PROCEDURES
Wind tunnel testing
● The model is placed on a test section and air is allowed to
move over it.

18
● COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD):

• Phenomenon or software used to

improve the car aerodynamics
• Used to solve the problems of fluid
flow, heat transfer
• Focuses on affects made by
pressure, temperature, density and
the velocity of the fluids.
19
Actual Reference of Maruti Suzuki
Swift Dzire without modifications

Pressure Contour without modifications

Swift Dzire without modifications

Velocity Contour without modifications 21

Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire with Full
Modifications

Pressure Contour with full modifications

Swift Dzire with full modifications

Velocity Contour with full modification 22

 Comparison of modifications

Analyzed goals of without Analyzed goals of with full

modifications modification
23
Conclusion
● Aerodynamics in cars is a factor in the overall
performance of the car
● Earlier cars designed poorly and consume large quantity
of fuel
● All most all cars are tested for getting the optimum
aerodynamic configuration nowadays.
● Effective utilisation of aerodynamics devices(diffuser,
spoiler) should never be compromised.

24
Inference
● Installation of spoiler and DRS system are the most
effective method for reducing drag, thereby increasing
downforce.

● Computational softwares analyse flow dynamics of the

vehicle and simulates performance under various
conditions

25
 REFERENCES
1. O. H. Ehirim, K. Knowles, A. J. Saddington 2017 “A Review of Ground-Effect Diffuser
Aerodynamics” [DOI:10.1115/1.4040501]

2. A.Anish, Suthen P.G, Viju M.K 2017 “Modelling and analysis of a car for reducing
aerodynamic forces” [ISSN:2231-5381]

3. Hucho, W.-H., 1998, Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles, 4th Rev. ed., SAE International,
Society of Automotive Engineers, Washington, DC, pp. 392–395

4. Zhang, X., Toet, W., and Zerihan, J., 2006, “Ground Effect Aerodynamics Race Cars”,
ASME J. Appl. Mech. Rev., 59(1), pp. 33–49.

26