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Fluid motion for car undertrays in ground effect.

Fluid motion for car undertrays in ground effect.
Fluid motion for car undertrays in ground effect.
Air motion representative of some of the flows past a moving car is studied, particularly in the gap between the car underbody (undertray, front flap or forewing) and the ground, using theory and computation. The ground-affected flows encountered are two- or three-dimensional, laminar, transitional or turbulent, and attached or separated. Given Reynolds numbers in the approximate range 1–10 million, emphasis here is placed first on key physical flow mechanisms: viscous-inviscid interaction filling either much or part of the gap; the generation of strong upstream influence; an abrupt pressure jump at the leading edge; the moving-ground condition; substantial diffuser flow reversals and wake effects; in three dimensions the distinguishing between inflow and outflow edges; and turbulent flow modelling. Second, for various underbody shapes, predictions are presented of the surface pressures and shear stresses, the lift or downforce, and the velocity profiles. Extensions of these to include edge effects, three-dimensionality and turbulence modelling are examined, along with optimization for certain shapes concerned with front-flap design and comparisons with recent experiments.
cars, downforce, flaps, ground effects
0022-0833
309-334
Jones, M.A.
6cfb0dde-3630-4df4-8f66-5335dec3b5fa
Smith, F.T.
4da4a291-677c-402c-8e5f-387b3985071b
Jones, M.A.
6cfb0dde-3630-4df4-8f66-5335dec3b5fa
Smith, F.T.
4da4a291-677c-402c-8e5f-387b3985071b

Jones, M.A. and Smith, F.T. (2003) Fluid motion for car undertrays in ground effect. Journal of Engineering Mathematics, 45 (3-4), 309-334. (doi:10.1023/A:1022626814273).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Air motion representative of some of the flows past a moving car is studied, particularly in the gap between the car underbody (undertray, front flap or forewing) and the ground, using theory and computation. The ground-affected flows encountered are two- or three-dimensional, laminar, transitional or turbulent, and attached or separated. Given Reynolds numbers in the approximate range 1–10 million, emphasis here is placed first on key physical flow mechanisms: viscous-inviscid interaction filling either much or part of the gap; the generation of strong upstream influence; an abrupt pressure jump at the leading edge; the moving-ground condition; substantial diffuser flow reversals and wake effects; in three dimensions the distinguishing between inflow and outflow edges; and turbulent flow modelling. Second, for various underbody shapes, predictions are presented of the surface pressures and shear stresses, the lift or downforce, and the velocity profiles. Extensions of these to include edge effects, three-dimensionality and turbulence modelling are examined, along with optimization for certain shapes concerned with front-flap design and comparisons with recent experiments.

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More information

Published date: 2003
Keywords: cars, downforce, flaps, ground effects

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 29405
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/29405
ISSN: 0022-0833
PURE UUID: ed5be950-f1c1-420a-a8fe-0348e5094712

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Date deposited: 12 May 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:31

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Contributors

Author: M.A. Jones
Author: F.T. Smith

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