A predictive capability for the aerodynamic deformation of convertible car roofs

Abstract

The flow-induced deformation of a membrane in a flow is studied using experimental and computational approaches in a configuration that represents the effect of the aerodynamic load on a convertible car roof. The computational method couples a commercial computational fluid dynamics code with an in-house structural code to predict membrane deformation. A converged statically deformed state, within 1 per cent difference in the displacement variable, is reached after three iterations between the fluid and structural codes. The predictions of membrane deformation are shown to agree well with the experimental results. The key outcome is the demonstration of methodology that will be useful in the engineering design of convertible car roofs.

Aerodynamic Performance Enhancement of a Sports Vehicle Using Numerical Techniques

“…The experimental research in the literature review were mostly conducted to study the 3D streamlines in the recirculation zones, reverse flow zones, flow turbulence models and wind tunnel setups [7][8][9]. A few research papers focused on aerodynamic performance enhancement based on wind screen angle and hood inclination optimization techniques [10,11].CATIA V5, Rhinoceros NURBS, MSC.Adams were the most used modelling software. Results of experimental setups were validated using wind tunnel tests, on road test performance and numerical simulations [9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”