Important Factors for Accurate Scale-Resolving Simulations of Automotive Aerodynamics

Abstract

Road transports are responsible for almost 18 % of the greenhouse gas emission in Europe and are today the leading cause of air pollution in cities. Aerodynamic resistance has a significant effect on fuel consumption and hence the emission of vehicles. For electric vehicles, emissions are not affected by the aerodynamics as such but instead have a significant effect on the effective range of the vehicle.In 2017, a new measurement procedure was introduced, Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), for measuring emissions, fuel consumption, and range. This procedure includes a new test cycle with increased average driving speed compared to the former procedure, which thereby increases the importance of the aerodynamic resistance, as it drastically increases with speed. A second effect is that the exact car configuration sold to the customer needs to be certified in terms of fuel consumption and emissions. The result is that every possible combination of optional extras, which might affect the aerodynamic resistance, needs to be aerodynamically analyzed and possibly improved. From 2021, the European Commission will introduce stricter emission regulations for new passenger cars, with the fleet-wide average lowered to 95 grams CO 2 /km, which puts an even higher demand on achieving efficient aerodynamics.