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A comfortable thermal environment can alleviate fatigue, reduce irritability, and improve driving safety. However, it is rather a challenge to evaluate thermal comfort inside a vehicle due to multifarious geometric and environmental factors as well as human differences. This study conducted a series of field experiments both in summer and winter conditions, measuring the thermal environment parameters inside the compartment and the skin temperature of experimental personnel, and carrying out subjective thermal sensation and comfort questionnaires. The experimental results showed that head and trunk are the most relevant parts of all human body parts to the overall thermal sensation/comfort. For overall thermal sensation, the value of regression R2 referring to head/trunk is 0.691/0.721, while those corresponding to overall thermal comfort is 0.802/0.773.

This paper reports an experimental investigation of the wake flow behind a 1/12 scale notchback MIRA model at Re = UL/ν = 6.9×105 (where U is free-stream velocity, L the length of the model and ν viscosity). Focus is placed on the flow asymmetry over the backlight and decklid. Forty pressure taps are used to map the surface pressure distribution on the backlight and decklid, while the wake topology is investigated by means of 2D Particle Image Velocimetry. The analysis of the instantaneous pressure signals over the notch configuration clearly shows that the pressure presents a bi-stable behavior in the spanwise direction, characterized by the switches between two preferred values, which is not found in the vertical direction.

By means of particle image velocimetry(PIV) measurements, this paper uses vortex identification algorithms to find and analyze the coherent structures in the shear layer region of a 1:15 scaled 3/4 open jet automotive wind tunnel with a high Reynolds number(about 106), referring to SAWTC’s AAWT. The proper orthogonal decomposition(POD) is used to process the PIV experimental data to reconstruct the velocity fields. Based on the vortex identification functions, the locations of the center, the rotation direction and the radius of vortex can be computed. Furthermore, this paper uses the statistical method to study the regularities of distribution of these vortexes in a two-dimensional plane, and identify the vortex pairing process in the shear layer region. This paper also chooses different vortex identification algorithms to find the most accurate and suitable algorithms.

Based on a 1:15 scaled 3/4 open jet automotive wind tunnel, this paper studies the effect of vortex generator on the buffeting phenomenon. The mean velocity, static pressure gradient, turbulent intensity as well as frequencies of fluctuant velocities have been explored experimentally with and without vortex generator. It shows that the less protruding vortex generator could control the buffeting phenomenon and improve the flow quality. Furthermore, the unsteady coherent structures in the jet shear layer have been visualized and analyzed by Detached-eddy simulation (DES). The vortex-ring pairing process is identified in the shear layer along with obvious frequency characteristics and velocity fluctuations. The vortex generator can postpone and restrain this vortex-ring pairing process, then reducing the velocity fluctuations.