Methods for Reducing Aerodynamic Drag in Vehicles and thus Acquiring Fuel Economy

摘要

This paper discusses about techniques that can be adopted to reduce the formation of aerodynamic drag on vehicles & thus reducing the fuel consumption. This is a comparative study and hence conclusions based on more than one method are practiced here. One of the major causes of aerodynamic drag on a vehicle is due to the formation of flow separation at the rear end of the vehicle. For reducing such flow separation certain aerodynamic shapes or surfaces can be provided on the vehicle surface. One such improvement is the usage of a bump-shaped vortex generator that restricts flow separation up to an extent & thereby reducing the aerodynamic drag. Another method is by the usage of two passive devices known as rear fairing, which is the aerodynamic extension of a vehicle’s rear end and the other is a rear screen, which is a plate fixed behind the back of a car. Drag induced on a vehicle prohibits it for higher acceleration. And hence for attaining higher velocities more fuel has to be burnt, which increases the fuel usage & also leads to higher carbon emissions that will gradually affect the environment.