Comparison of flow characteristics behind squareback bluff-bodies with and without wheels

Abstract

The wake dynamics of two referenced variations of the squareback Windsor model with and without wheels are numerically studied by performing Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES). Numerical assessments are validated against publicly available experimental data. The focus of this study is on the wake states influenced by the wheels and the thick oncoming floor boundary layer. Results show that the addition of the wheels significantly changes the aerodynamic forces, the underbody flow, and the wake topology. The wake bi-stability is also enhanced with wheels in place due to the increased curvature of lateral shear layers in the near wake. However, the bi-stable behavior is largely suppressed when immersed in a thick boundary layer. These alterations depend on the degree of interaction between the wake recirculation and the bottom flow, and such degree is strongly affected by the underbody flow momentum. The evolution of low-order flow organizations and complementary spectral analysis highlight the differences in the coherent dynamics of the wake. The finding of the present work suggests that the wake bi-stability behind the squareback body can exist not only for a simplified geometry but also for a more realistic car with wheels in real-world upstream conditions.

The Role of Forebody Topology on Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics Characteristics of Squareback Vehicles using Computational Aeroacoustics (CAA)

“…The inlet turbulent intensity is set to 0.1%, which is identical to the in ow conditions used in the experimental studies conducted by Müller et al [24] and Nusser [23]. The ratio of the 99% boundary layer thickness (δ 99 ) and ground clearance (g c ) is set to 1, which ensures that the effect of the ground boundary layer on the vehicle ow characteristics is minimal [40]. A zero pressure is de ned for the outlet, and the surrounding walls are de ned as symmetry as shown in Fig.…”

Effect of streamwise length on the wake characteristics of elongated bluff bodies with small ground clearance

“…The numerical simulations were performed using Siemens STAR CCM+ software [6]. Previous numerical studies have extensively utilized and validated STAR-CCM+ to examine the flow past bluff bodies [1,7,8]. For the steady-state simulation, the flow field is solved using the finite volume method and the discretized continuity and momentum equations.…”