Reduction of Aerodynamic Drag Force for Reducing Fuel Consumption in Road Vehicle using Basebleed

Abstract

This paper presents the study of the overall aerodynamic performance of road vehicles and suggests a method to reduce the drag force and also to find the optimum location for placing basebleed in a car using aerodynamic principle. The overall aerodynamic drag force is reduced by eliminating wake region at the rear side of the car and reducing pressure in the front region of the car by delaying the flow separation. This improves the overall aerodynamic performance of the car thereby reducing fuel consumption, as well as improving stability and comfort by the attachment of basebleed. The wind tunnel tests are conducted for a subscale model of car with the basebleed at various locations along the front and rear side of the car in both X and Y directions. The coefficient of drag (CD), the coefficient of lift (CL) and coefficient of side force (CS) for the car is measured to interpret the effect of flow conditions on the car model. The experimental result reveals that the attachment of base bleed at an optimum position in the front and rear side of the car improves its performance and decreases drag coefficient by 6.188 %.

Keywords

• Road vehicle; Wind tunnel; Basebleed; Aerodynamic drag force; Pressure coefficient; Fuel consumption.