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The increasing importance of minimizing drag and the absence of an exhaust system result in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) commonly having a very streamlined underbody. Although this shape of underbody is typically characterized by a low acoustic interference potential, significant flow resonance can be observed for certain vehicle configurations and frequencies below 30 Hz. Since the interior of the vehicle can be excited as a Helmholtz resonator, these low-frequency fluctuations result in reduced comfort for the passengers. As preliminary studies have shown, the flow around the front wheel spoilers significantly influences this flow phenomenon. Flow separation occurs at the front-wheel spoilers and at the front wheels. This leads to the generation of vortices which are growing significantly while being transported downstream with the flow. Even small geometric changes to add-on components on the underbody significantly influence both aerodynamics and aeroacoustics.

This paper presents an experimental method for measuring transmission paths from the exterior to the interior of a passenger vehicle using a reciprocal approach: A production vehicle was placed in a semi-anechoic environment; artificial noise sources were placed at the location of the occupant’s ear(s) inside the vehicle and beamforming arrays with a total of more than 300 microphones were used to observe apparent noise sources on the vehicle exterior resulting from transmission paths. This makes it possible to quickly measure transmission paths over the whole vehicle body. One of the motivations for this work is the monitoring of sealing quality on production vehicles. Artificial seal breaches were introduced on the vehicle and a number of excitation signals were assessed to develop a method to detect and localise leakage noise sources.

Numerical methodologies for aeroacoustic analyses are increasingly crucial for car manufacturers to optimize the effectiveness of vehicle development. In the present work, a hybrid numerical tool based on the combination of a delayed detached-eddy simulation and a finite element model, which relies on the Lighthill’s acoustic analogy and the acoustic perturbation equations, is presented. The computational aeroacoustics is performed by the software OpenFOAM and Actran, concerning respectively the CFD and the FEM. The aeroacoustic behavior of the SUV Lamborghini Urus at a cruising speed of 140 km/h has been investigated. The main aerodynamic noise phenomena occurring in the side mirror region in a frequency range up to 5 kHz are discussed. The numerical simulations have been verified against the measurements performed in the aeroacoustic wind tunnel of the University of Stuttgart, operated by FKFS.

The wind tunnel is the standard tool in the development and improvement of vehicle aerodynamics. Usually, automotive wind tunnels contain an open test section, which results in a shear layer developing on the edge of the jet. This shear layer brings instabilities that can lead to resonance effects in the wind tunnel influencing the pressure distribution in the test section. To investigate the resonance effects, the classic wind tunnel corrections were applied to averaged drag measurements recorded in a resonance and nonresonance configuration of the model scale wind tunnel of the University of Stuttgart. The Mercker-Wiedemann-Method shows good compensation for the differing pressure gradients. Pressure measurements on the surface of the DrivAer Notchback model show different separation points on the rear window for measurements in resonance and nonresonance configuration. This means that the resonance effects can influence the separation significantly.

In use cars often drive through the wakes of other vehicles. It has long been appreciated that this imposes a fluctuating onset flow which can excite a structural response in vehicle panels, particularly the bonnet. This structure must be designed to be robust to such excitation to guarantee structural integrity and maintain customer expectations of quality. As we move towards autonomous vehicles and exploit platoons for drag reduction, this onset flow condition merits further attention. The work reported here comprises both measurements and simulation capturing the unsteady pressure distribution over the bonnet of an SUV following a similar vehicle at high speed and in relatively close proximity. Measurements were taken during track testing and include 48 static measurement locations distributed over the bonnet where the unsteady static pressures were recorded.

Typical automotive research in wind tunnels is conducted under idealized, stationary, low turbulence flow conditions. This does not necessarily reflect the actual situation in traffic. Thus, there is a considerable interest to simulate the actual flow conditions. Because of this, a system for the simulation of the turbulence intensity I, the integral linear scale L and the transient angle of incidence β measured in full-scale tests in the inflow of a test vehicle was developed and installed in a closed-loop, closed test section wind tunnel. The system consists of four airfoils with movable flaps and is installed in the beginning of the test section. Time-series of the flow velocity vector are measured in the empty test section to analyze the system’s envelope in terms of the turbulence intensity and the integral length scales.

Automotive vehicles operate in complex, transient aerodynamic conditions that can potentially influence their operational efficiency, performance and safety. A moving-model facility combined with a wind-tunnel is an experimental methodology that can be utilized to model some of these transient aerodynamic conditions. This experimental methodology is an alternative to wind-tunnel experiments with additional crosswind generators or actively yawing models, and has the added benefit of modelling the correct relative motion between the vehicle and the ground/infrastructure. Experiments using a VW Golf 7 were performed with a 1:10 scale model at the moving-model facility at DLR, Göttingen and a full-scale, operational vehicle at the BMW Ascheim side-wind facility.

The field of vision of the driver during wet road conditions is essential for safety at all times. Additionally, the safe use of the increasing number of sensors integrated in modern cars for autonomous driving and intelligent driver assistant systems has to be ensured even under challenging weather conditions. To fulfil these requirements during the development process of new cars, experimental and numerical investigations of vehicle soiling are performed. This paper presents the surface contamination of self- and foreign-soiling tested in the wind tunnel. For these type of tests, the fluorescence method is state-of-the-art and widely used for visualizing critical areas. In the last years, the importance of parameters like the contact angle have been identified when designing the experimental setup. In addition, new visualization techniques have been introduced.

In the automotive industry, there is a continued need to improve the development process and handle the increasing complexity of the overall vehicle system. One major step in this process is a comprehensive and complementary approach to both simulation and testing. Knowledge of the overall dynamic vehicle behavior is becoming increasingly important for the development of new control concepts such as integrated vehicle dynamics control aiming to improve handling quality and ride comfort. However, with current well-established test systems, only separated and isolated aspects of vehicle dynamics can be evaluated. To address these challenges and further merge the link between simulation and testing, the Institute of Internal Combustion Engines and Automotive Engineering (IVK), University of Stuttgart is introducing a new Handling Roadway (HRW) Test System in cooperation with The Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS) and MTS Systems Corporation.

In this article the unsteady aerodynamic properties of a 25% scale DrivAer notchback model as well as the influence of the wind tunnel environment on the resulting unsteady aerodynamic forces and moments under crosswind excitation are investigated using experimental and corresponding numerical methods. Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS) swing® (side wind generator) is used to reproduce the essential properties of natural stochastic crosswind in the open jet test section of the Institute for Internal Combustion Engines and Automotive Engineering (IVK) model scale wind tunnel (MWK). The results show that the test environment of an open jet wind tunnel alters the amplitudes of side force and yaw moment under crosswind excitation when compared to an ideal environment neglecting wind tunnel interference effects.

Minimizing the lap time for a given race track is the main target in racecar development. In order to achieve the highest possible performance of the vehicle configuration the mutual interaction at the level of assemblies and components requires a balance between the advantages and disadvantages for each design decision. Especially the major shift in the focus of racecar powerunit development to high efficiency powertrains is driving a development of lean boosted and rightsized engines. In terms of dynamic engine behavior the time delay from requested to provided torque could influence the lap time performance. Therefore, solely maximizing the full load behavior objective is insufficient to achieve minimal lap time. By means of continuous predictive virtual methods throughout the whole development process, the influence on lap time by dynamic power lags, e.g. caused by the boost system, can be recognized efficiently even in the early concept phase.

In this paper the influence of different turbulent flow conditions on the aerodynamic drag of a quarter scale model with notchback and estate back rear ends is investigated. FKFS swing® (Side Wind Generator) is used to generate a turbulent flow field in the test section of the IVK model scale wind tunnel. In order to investigate the increase in drag with increasing yaw, a steady state yaw sweep is performed for both vehicle models. The shape of the drag curves vary for each vehicle model. The notchback model shows a more pronounced drag minimum at 0° yaw angle and experiences a more severe increase in drag at increasing yaw when compared to the estate back model. Unsteady time averaged aerodynamic drag values are obtained at two flow situations with different turbulent length scales, turbulence intensities, and yaw angle amplitudes. While the first one is representing light wind, the second one is recreating the presence of strong gusty wind.

In Motorsports the understanding of the real engine performance within a complete circuit lap is a crucial topic. On the basis of the telemetry data the engineers are able to monitor this performance and try to adapt the engine to the vehicle's and race track's characteristics and driver's needs. However, quite often the telemetry is the sole analysis instrument for the Engine-Vehicle-Driver (EVD) system and it has no prediction capability. The engine optimization for best lap-time or best fuel economy is therefore a topic which is not trivial to solve, without the aid of suitable, reliable and predictive engineering tools. A complete EVD model was therefore built in a GT-SUITE™ environment for a Motorsport racing car (STCC-VW-Scirocco) equipped with a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) turbocharged S.I. engine and calibrated on the basis of telemetry and test bench data.

In this paper the effect of aerodynamic modifications that influence the unsteady aerodynamic properties of a vehicle on the response of the closed loop system driver-vehicle under side wind conditions is investigated. In today's aerodynamic optimization the side wind sensitivity of a vehicle is determined from steady state values measured in the wind tunnel. There, the vehicle is rotated with respect to the wind tunnel flow to create an angle of attack. In this approach however, the gustiness that is inherent in natural wind is not reproduced. Further, unsteady forces and moments acting on the vehicle are not measured due to the limited dynamic response of the commonly used wind tunnel balances. Therefore, a new method is introduced, overcoming the shortcomings of the current steady state approach. The method consists of the reproduction of the properties of natural stochastic crosswind that are essential for the determination of the side wind sensitivity of a vehicle.