Impact on new aerodynamic solutions for the front-end on the engine bay thermal performance

摘要

This work investigates the impact of an innovative aerodynamic solution for the front-end of a vehicle on the engine bay thermal performance. Starting from a production series automobile, an alternative aerodynamic configuration was studied, with the aim of improving the overall aerodynamic behavior without excessively penalizing the thermal aspect, and by keeping into account all the involved constraints. The aero-thermal performances were evaluated through a co-simulation approach which exploits a CFD and a thermal computational solver. The main driver for this research was the increasing demand for fuel efficient vehicles. Nowadays, in order to comply with more and more severe regulations, the car manufacturers are trying to study solutions able to guarantee the achievement of emissions and fuel consumption targets mandated by law. This thesis focuses on one possible way to achieve such targets in the short term on a model already in production.