Abstract
With ever stricter emissions regulations and the upcoming certification procedure defined in WLTP, the importance of aerodynamics for OEMs is increasing. This paper presents the aerodynamics development of the fifth generation Land Rover Discovery and gives an insight into the recent migration towards the use of new tools and processes to ensure future vehicles’ compliance is achieved.
In the early development stages, numerical methods were exclusively used to optimise the main proportions of the vehicle, as well as to understand sensitivities and draw a road-map to attain the aerodynamics attribute targets. A full-scale test property (“Aerobuck”) was then built and tested in the fixed-ground MIRA Full Scale Wind Tunnel (FSWT) to optimise specific areas in order to reduce the drag coefficient. These tests were done in combination with an extensive use of CFD to enable a better understanding of the flow fields and mechanisms involved. Finally, the development of an aerodynamically optimised wheel enabled the lowest drag coefficient to date for a Land Rover SUV, CD = 0.33.
Although certified in the MIRA FSWT, the validation process has also seen prototypes tested in the moving-ground FKFS Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel (AAWT) benefiting from 5-belt ground simulation. A direct comparison between experimental and numerical results has also been made; they generally show good agreement between the two tools except for the prediction of so-called “cooling drag”.
The original version of this chapter was revised: Chapter title has been changed. The erratum to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67822-1_18
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Howell, J., Gaylard, A.: Improving SUV aerodynamics. In: 6th MIRA International Vehicle Aerodynamics Conference, pp. 1–17 (2006)
Gaylard, A.P.: The Appropriate Use of CFD in the Automotive Design Process. SAE Technical Paper 2009-01-1162 (2009)
Samples, M., Gaylard, A.P., Windsor, S.: The aerodynamics development of the Range Rover Evoque. In: 8th MIRA International Conference on Vehicle Aerodynamics (2010)
Gaylard, A.: The new Jaguar XE: a case study in computational aerodynamics. In: International Forum Advanced Automotive Aerodynamics (2015)
Chen, H., Chen, S., Matthaeus, W.H.: Recovery of the Navier-Stokes equations using a lattice-gas Boltzmann method. Phys. Rev. A 45(8), R5339–R5342 (1992)
Chen, H., Teixeira, C., Molvig, K.: Digital physics approach to computational fluid dynamics: some basic theoretical features. Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 8(4), 675–684 (1997)
Chen, H., Kandasamy, S., Orszag, S., Shock, R., et al.: Extended Boltzmann kinetic equation for turbulent flows. Science 301(5633), 633–636 (2003)
Gaylard, A.P.: The aerodynamic development of the new Jaguar XF. In: 7th MIRA International Conference on Vehicle Aerodynamics (2008)
Gaylard, A., Pitman, J., Jilesen, J., Gagliardi, A., et al.: Insights into rear surface contamination using simulation of road spray and aerodynamics. SAE Int. J. Passeng. Cars Mech. Syst. 7(2), 673–681 (2014)
Newnham, P., Passmore, M., Howell, J., Baxendale, A.: On the Optimisation of Road Vehicle Leading Edge Radius in Varying Levels of Freestream Turbulence, SAE Technical Paper 2006-01-1029 (2006)
Carr, G., Stapleford, W.: Blockage Effects in Automotive Wind-Tunnel Testing, SAE Technical Paper 860093 (1986)
Künstner, R., Potthoff, J., Essers, U.: The Aero-Acoustic Wind Tunnel of Stuttgart University, SAE Technical Paper 950625 (1995)
Blumrich, R., Widdecke, N., Wiedemann, J., Michelbach, A., et al.: New FKFS technology at the full-scale aeroacoustic wind tunnel of University of Stuttgart. SAE Int. J. Passeng. Cars Mech. Syst. 8(1), 294–305 (2015)
Gaylard, A.P., Kirwan, K., Lockerby, D.A.: Surface contamination of cars: a review. Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part D J. Automobile Eng. 231(9) 1160–1176 (2017)
Janson, J., Darrieutort, L., Bannister, M.: New development and working methods used in the aerodynamic development of the new large estate, JSAE paper 20005352 (2000)
Costelli, A.F.: Aerodynamic characteristics of the Fiat UNO car, SAE paper 840297 (1984)
Fujimoto, T., Miyake, N., Watanabe, Y.: Suppression of mud adhesion to the rear surface of a van-type truck, SAE paper 920203 (1992)
Cogotti, A.: A Strategy for Optimum Surveys of Passenger-Car Flow Fields, SAE Technical Paper 890374 (1989)
Wickern, G., Zwicker, K., Pfadenhauer, M.: Rotating Wheels - Their Impact on Wind Tunnel Test Techniques and on Vehicle Drag Results, SAE Technical Paper 970133 (1997)
Landström, C., Josefsson, L., Walker, T., Löfdahl, L.: An experimental investigation of wheel design parameters with respect to aerodynamic drag. In: 8th FKFS Conference (2011)
Modlinger, F., Demuth, R., Adams, N.: New directions in the optimization of the flow around wheels and wheel arches. In: MIRA International Conference on Vehicle Aerodynamics (2008)
Vdovin, A., Lofdahl, L., Sebben, S.: Investigation of wheel aerodynamic resistance of passenger cars. SAE Int. J. Passeng. Cars Mech. Syst. 7(2), 639–645 (2014)
Landström, C., Walker, T., Christoffersen, L., Löfdahl, L.: Influences of Different Front and Rear Wheel Designs on Aerodynamic Drag of a Sedan Type Passenger Car, SAE Technical Paper 2011-01-0165 (2011)
Larson, L., Gin, R., Lietz, R.: Aerodynamic investigation of cooling drag of a production sedan Part 2: CFD results. SAE Int. J. Passeng. Cars Mech. Syst. 10(1), 628–637 (2017)
Pitman, J.: An experimental investigation into the flow mechanism around an SUV in open and closed cooling air conditions. In: FKFS – 11th Aerodynamic Conference (2017)
Mercker, E., Cooper, K.: A Two-Measurement Correction for the Effect of a Pressure Gradient on Automotive, Open-Jet, Wind Tunnel Measurements. SAE Paper 2006-01.0568 (2006)
Mercker, E.: On buoyancy and wake distortion in test sections of automotive wind tunnels. In: FKFS – 9th Aerodynamic Conference, pp. 205–227 (2013)
Wiedemann, J., Potthoff, J.: The New 5-Belt Road Simulation System of the IVK Wind Tunnels - Design and First Results SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-0429 (2003)
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support from Aerodynamics Team at Jaguar Land Rover, Gaydon, UK. The authors would also like to thank Jaguar Land Rover for giving their permission to publish this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Chaligné, S., Turner, R., Gaylard, A. (2018). The Aerodynamics Development of the New Land Rover Discovery. In: Wiedemann, J. (eds) Progress in Vehicle Aerodynamics and Thermal Management. FKFS 2017. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67822-1_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67822-1_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67821-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67822-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)