Browse Publications Technical Papers 2000-01-0351
2000-03-06

Wind-Tunnel Tests of Vehicle Cooling System Performance at High Blockage 2000-01-0351

Wind tunnels provide a convenient, repeatable method of assessing vehicle engine cooling, yet important draw-backs are the lack of a moving ground and rotating wheels, blockage constraints and, in some tunnels, the inability to simulate ambient temperatures.
A series of on-road and wind-tunnel experiments has been conducted to validate a process for evaluating vehicle cooling system performance in a high blockage aerodynamic wind tunnel with a fixed ground simulation. Airflow through the vehicle front air intake was measured via a series of pressure taps and the wind-tunnel velocity was adjusted to match the corresponding pressures found during the road tests. In order to cope with the inability to simulate ambient temperatures, the technique of Specific Dissipation (SD) was used (which has previously been shown to overcome this problem). Comparisons are drawn between the SD measured on the road (for various modifications and speeds) with those measured in a wind tunnel at high (30%) blockage ratio.
Very good agreement was found, indicating the potential for testing modifications on vehicles in a relatively low cost facility. However a drawback is that the yaw angles generated on road by cross winds cannot be reproduced. It is noted that effects of yaw angle are not considered in most comparable cooling tests and prior work has shown that the effects are small. In general, in order to optimise wind-tunnel velocity, it is preferred to calibrate each test vehicle on the road.

SAE MOBILUS

Subscribers can view annotate, and download all of SAE's content. Learn More »

Access SAE MOBILUS »

Preview Document Add to Cart
Members save up to 16% off list price.
Login to see discount.
Special Offer: Download multiple Technical Papers each year? TechSelect is a cost-effective subscription option to select and download 12-100 full-text Technical Papers per year. Find more information here.
We also recommend:
TECHNICAL PAPER

Assessment of a Vehicle's Transient Aerodynamic Response

2012-01-0449

View Details

TECHNICAL PAPER

Numerical Analysis of Flow around an Isolated Rotating Wheel Using a Sliding Mesh Technique

2020-01-0675

View Details

TECHNICAL PAPER

Further CFD Studies for Detailed Tires using Aerodynamics Simulation with Rolling Road Conditions

2010-01-0756

View Details

X