Technical Paper
Transient Aerodynamics Simulations of a Passenger Vehicle during Deployment of Rear Spoiler
2024-04-09
2024-01-2536
In the context of vehicle electrification, improving vehicle aerodynamics is critical for efficiency and range by decreasing the drag, but also for driving experience and stability by increasing the downforce. In order to balance the necessary trade-offs between drag and downforce without significant impact on the vehicle styling, we see an increasing amount of active aerodynamics solutions on high-end passenger vehicles. Active rear spoilers are one of the most common active aerodynamics features. They deploy at high vehicle speed when additional downforce is required to provide stability to the vehicle. Typically, the aerodynamics of the vehicle is predicted through simulations or physical testing at different static configurations of deployment ranging from the spoiler in closed position to fully extended.