Investigation of the Cooling and Underbody Flow Field on a Detailed Scale Model Passenger Car: Part 2—Effect of Ground Simulation

Future demands on passenger cars consist to a large extend of making them more energy efficient. Reducing the driving resistance by reducing the aerodynamic drag will be one important part in reducing fuel consumption. In most cases during passenger car development, early experimental investigations are performed in scale model wind tunnels. Considering that such models inevitably suffer from Reynolds number effects it is important to understand how this affects the test results. Investigations of the aerodynamics of a detailed scale model Volvo S60 have been performed in the aerodynamic wind tunnel at Chalmers University of Technology. The investigation aimed at increasing the understanding of how the flow field in scale model testing is affected by ground simulation and different cooling air flow configurations at different Reynolds numbers. A full width moving ground system was used in the experiments. Pressure taps were distributed between the cooling air inlets, the underbody and the vehicle base. An internal six component balance was used to measure global forces and moments. By combining the results from the measurements it was possible to increase the understanding of some of the local flow features. Results showed significant Reynolds number effects both with stationary ground as well as moving ground and rotating wheels. Global aerodynamic drag as well as front and rear axle lift was found to be affected.