Numerical Simulation of Hatchback Car with Modified Vehicle Design for the Improvement of Fuel Consumption

Sivaraj, G.; Parammasivam, K. M.; Prasath, M. S.; Lakshmanan, D.

doi:10.47176/jafm.16.09.1828

Numerical Simulation of Hatchback Car with Modified Vehicle Design for the Improvement of Fuel Consumption

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

¹ Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, Tamilnadu, 638401, India

² Department of Aerospace Engineering, Anna University (MIT Campus), Chennai, India – 600044

³ Subsonic Airflow Testing Facility, Research Park, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu, India – 638401

10.47176/jafm.16.09.1828

Abstract

The continuous demand and fuel depletion in the automobile industries cause a reduction in fuel consumption, especially in a car which is a classic problem to focus on vehicle body design. The formation of drag force in the car body demands tractive force and significantly affects the engine performance and fuel consumption rate which is not advisable for enhancing aerodynamic efficiency. This paper discusses the methodology to reduce the fuel consumption rate in hatchback cars using a ‘basebleed method’. The hatchback car model with and without basebleed is numerically simulated for the various speed to study the aerodynamic coefficients. The numerical simulation is performed with the k-ε turbulence model for predicting the wake region of both car models with and without basebleed. The numerical study witnessed the hatchback car model with basebleed arrived 6% reduction in the coefficient of drag (C_D) compared to without basebleed, which results in a reduction of fuel consumption rate of up to 4.33 %. The research evidence that the stability of the car is not affected while using this basebleed drag reduction method and it is studied from the resultant parameters such as coefficient of lift (C_L) and coefficient of side force (C_S) and for the varying yaw angle (φ). Further, the research recommends the integration of basebleed at the underbody structure in Hatchback cars to improve the engine fuel consumption without affecting its stability.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Drag reduction

References

Aleksander, G., & Milan, B. (2017). Vehicle aerodynamic stability analysis under high crosswinds, Strojniski vestnik. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 63(3), 191-200. https://doi.org/10.5545/sv-jme.2016.4095##

Altaf, A., Ashraf, A. O., & Waqar, A. (2014). Passive Drag Reduction of Square Back Road Vehicles. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 134, 30-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2014.08.006##

Andrew, D. L., Johnathan, J. K., & Matthew, S. (2009). An Investigation into Unsteady Base Bleed for Drag Reduction in Bluff Two-Box SUV’s. European Automotive Simulation Conference, Munich, Germany.##

Bert, B., Stefanie, G., Fabio, M., & Thijs, V. D. (2023), Impact of a nearby car on the drag of a cyclist. Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics, 234(1), 353 -359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2023.105353##

Browand, F. (2007). The Aerodynamics of Heavy Vehicles II: Trucks, Buses and Trains. Global Climate and Energy Project on Advanced Transportation, Stanford University.##

Connor, C., Kharazi, A., Walter, J., & Martindale, B. (2006). Comparison of wind tunnel configurations for testing closed-wheel race cars: a CFD study. SAE Technical Paper, 2006-01-3620. https://doi.org/10.4271/2006-01-3620##

Giacomo, R., Christophe, S., Valeri, F., Jacques, B., & Fabien, H. (2017). Aerodynamic performances of rounded fastback vehicle. Journal of Automobile Engineering, 231, 1211–1221. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954407016681684##

Gregoire, F., Laurent, K., Larbi, L., & Patrick, G. (2011). Bluff-body drag reduction using a deflector. Experimental Fluids, 50, 385-395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-010-0937-6##

Himeno, R., & Fujitani, K. (1993). Numerical analysis and visualization of flow in automobile aerodynamics development. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 46, 785-790. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6105(93)90354-Q##

Hucho, W., & Sovran, G. (1993). Aerodynamics of road vehicles. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 25(1), 485-537. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.fl.25.010193.002413##

Inchul, K., & Hualei, C. (2010). Reduction of aerodynamic forces on a minivan by a pair of vortex generators of a pocket Type. International Journal of Vehicle Design, 53 (4), 300–316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJVD.2010.034103##

Kang, S. O., Jun, S. O., Park, H. I., Song, K. S., Kee, J. D., Kim, K. H. & Lee, D. H. (2012). Actively translating a rear diffuser device for the aerodynamic drag reduction of a passenger car. International Journal of Automotive Technology, 13(4) 583-592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-012-0056-x##

Kounenis, C., Bonitz, S., Ljungskog, E. & Sims Williams, D. (2016). Investigations of the Rear-End Flow Structures on a Sedan Car. SAE Technical Paper, 2016-01-1606. https://doi.org/10.4271/2016-01-1606##

Mahmoud, K., Hicham, E. H., Fabien, H., & Hassan, P. (2012). Some innovative concepts for car drag reduction: A parametric analysis of aerodynamic forces on a simplified body. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 108, 36-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2012.03.019##

Marklund, J., Lofdahl, L., Danielsson, H. & Olsson, G. (2013). Performance of an automotive under-body diffuser applied to a sedan and a wagon vehicle. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars – Mechanical System, 6(1) 293-307. https://doi.org/10.4271/2013-01-0952##

Matthew, W., & Simon, W. (2014). Aerodynamic Structure and Development of Formula 1 Racing Car Wakes. SAE Int. J. Passeng. Cars - Mech. Syst., 7(3),1096-1105. https://doi.org/10.4271/2014-01-0600##

Peng, F., Yan, F., Yin, B. J., & Liang, J. N. (2023). Experimental study on wake characteristics of secondary grooved cylinders with different depths. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 16(5), 1057-1073. https://doi.org/10.47176/jafm.16.05.1592##

Rakibul, H. S. M., Toukir, I., Mohammad, A., & Md Quamrul, I. (2014). Numerical study on aerodynamic drag reduction of racing cars. 10th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, ICME 2013, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka.##

Renan, S., & Francisco, S. (2015). Proposal of an aerodynamic concept for drag reduction of fastback car models. SAE Technical Paper Series, 2015-36-0523. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.3101.7762##

Siddiqui, N. A., & Chaab, M. A. (2021). A simple passive device for the drag reduction of an ahmed body. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 14)1(, 147-164. https://doi.org/10.47176/jafm.14.01.31791##

Simon, W., & Gioacchino, V. (2008). The effect of vehicle spacing on the aerodynamics of a representative car shape. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 96, 1232-1239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2007.06.042##

Sivaraj, G., Parammasivam, K. M., Suganya, G. (2018). Reduction of aerodynamic drag force for reducing fuel consumption in road vehicle using basebleed. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 11(6), 1489-1495. http://dx.doi.org/10.29252/jafm.11.06.29115##

Wang, Y., Xin, Y., Gu, Zh., Wang, Sh., Deng, Y., & Yang, X. (2014). Numerical and experimental investigations on the aerodynamic characteristic of three typical passenger vehicles. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 7(4), 659-671. https://doi.org/10.36884/jafm.7.04.21460##

Wassen, E., & Thiele, F. (2009). Road vehicle drag reduction by combined steady blowing and suction. AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference, San Antonio, Texas.##

Yang, X., Hu, Y., Gong, Z., Jian, J., & Liu, Z. (2022). Numerical study of combined drag reduction bases on vortex generators and riblets for the ahmed body using iddes methodology. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 15)1(, 193-207. https://doi.org/10.47176/jafm.15.01.32832##