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Analysis of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Rear Wing Mounted on Fastback Type Vehicle

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Abstract

The performance parameters of automobiles are mainly determined by aerodynamic characteristics such as lift and drag. To maximize vehicle performance, besides optimizing the vehicle itself, various aerodynamic devices can be used. To determine the efficiency of these devices, it is important to study how they affect the vehicle’s aerodynamic characteristics. This paper analyzes the effect of a rear wing on the aerodynamic characteristics of a fastback type vehicle using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The DrivAer model is used to simulate the vehicle and an S1223 high-lift airfoil is selected as the rear wing. Several CFD cases are considered, in which the rear wing is positioned at different angles of attack and heights and the effects of these parameters on the lift and drag coefficients are studied. The results for low vehicle velocity show that CD and CL are increased by 14 and decreased by 72 counts, respectively. For higher vehicle velocity, CD variation shows not much difference, however, CL variation shows further decrease of 35 counts. Furthermore, the effect of these parameters on the flow characteristics is analyzed, enabling guidelines for the design of efficient rear wings for fastback type vehicles to be suggested.

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Abbreviations

H:

height, mm

AOA:

angle of attack, °

C:

aerodynamic coefficient

V:

velocity, m/s

ρ :

density, kg/m3

p :

pressure, Pa

μ :

viscosity, kg/ms

L:

lift

D:

drag

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2017R1A5A1015311) and by the BK21 Program funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE, Korea) and National Research Foundation of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Pyungkee Kim, Wonseok Choi & Kyu Hong Kim

  2. Institute of Advanced Aerospace Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Kyu Hong Kim

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  1. Pyungkee Kim
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  2. Wonseok Choi
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  3. Kyu Hong Kim
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Correspondence to Kyu Hong Kim.

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Kim, P., Choi, W. & Kim, K.H. Analysis of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Rear Wing Mounted on Fastback Type Vehicle. Int.J Automot. Technol. 23, 1255–1268 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-022-0110-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-022-0110-2

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