Combination of body-fitted and embedded grids for external vehicle aerodynamics

摘要

Purpose - This paper seeks to reduce the time it takes to perform external aerodynamic simulationsrnwithout compromising accuracy. At present, cleaning up CAD data sets, in particular forrnundercarriage parts, takes several man-weeks.rnDesign/methodology/approach - Body-fitted and embedded mesh techniques are combined tornobtain accurate external aerodynamic solutions for realistic car geometries with minimal userrnintervention. The key idea is to mesh with typical body-fitted RANS grids the external shape of thernvehicle, which is smooth and requires detailed physical modeling. The underhood and undercarriagernare treated as embedded surfaces. The flow in this region is massively separated, requiring LES runsrnand isotropic grids. This makes it a suitable candidate for embedded grids.rnFindings - Comparisons with body-fitted and experimental data for a typical car show that thisrnapproach can yield drag predictions with an error less than 5 percent.rnPractical implications - The present approach reduces turnaround times for complete car geometries to one to two days, without compromising accuracy.rnOriginality/value - To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such an approach has been tried and validated for external aerodynamics.