Automobile aerodynamics is one of the most important factors of vehicle design, especially in race car design. CFD has been intensively used in various stages of automobile aerodynamic design to reduce air resistance and fuel consumption and increase driving stability. The flow over automobiles of complex three dimensional geometries is highly separated and viscous. Many CFD algorithms have been developed to simulate the complex flow. The accuracy of CFD simulation depends on grid quality, turbulence modeling and numerical methods. Projects are conducted on automobile aerodynamics simulation with state-of-the-art CFD technologies.
Fig. 1 Flow around a vehicle with pressure contour and velocity streamlines shown.
Fig. 2 Velocity magnitude contour at -0.08o attack angle with 20o flap deflection.