Numerical Simulations of Spoiler’s Effect on a Hatchback and a ‎Sedan Car Exposed to Crosswind Effect‎

Abstract

Numerical simulations of the airflow around a hatchback and a sedan vehicle without and with spoilers are carried out, besides, its effect on drag and lift coefficients are investigated with and without crosswinds. The effects of crosswind on aerodynamic forces are considered and its results are compared with the case without considering the effects of crosswind. For this purpose, the steady-state three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved by the Simple Method. Moreover, for turbulence modeling, the Realizable k-e model is implemented. The spoiler angle and its length are changed for both car models; furthermore, the effects of two spoilers on drag and lift coefficients are investigated in detail. All cases are simulated with and without crosswind. The results show that the impact of the spoiler for without crosswind conditions to decrease the lift coefficient in both models is significant; in addition, the drag coefficients are reduced for some cares. It can be concluded that the increase of spoiler length for both sedan and hatchback vehicles can increase the downward force and vehicle stability.

Keywords

• drag coefficient, lift coefficient
• spoiler
• numerical solution
• crosswind