Study of Drag Reduction Devices for a Square Back Vehicle Configuration Using RANS CFD Simulations

The aerodynamic flow around a simplified road vehicle model with and without drag reduction devices is investigated. The simulations are carried out using the unsteady RANS in conjunction with the ν²-f turbulence model. The corresponding experiments are performed in a small wind tunnel which includes pressure and velocity fields measurements. The devices are add-on geometry parts (a box with a cavity and, boat-tail without a cavity) which are attached to the back of the square-back model to improve the pressure recovery and reduce the flow unsteadiness. The results show that the recirculation regions at the base are shortened and weakened and the base pressure is significantly increased by the devices which lead to lower drag coefficients (up to 30% reduction in drag). Also, the results indicate a reduction of the turbulence intensities in the wake as well as a rapid upward deflection of the underbody flow with the devices in place. A suppression or damping of the unsteadiness is the common element of the devices studied. The baseline configuration (square-back) exhibits strong three-dimensional flapping of the wake. The main shedding frequency captured agrees well with the available experimental data. Comparisons with the measurements show that the simulations agree reasonably well with the experiments in terms of drag and the flow structures.