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Technical Paper

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Rim Aerodynamics

2022-03-29
2022-01-0891
The automotive industry is facing new emission regulations, changing customer preferences and technology disruptions. All have in common, that external aerodynamics plays a crucial role to achieve emission limits, reduce fuel consumption and extend electric driving range. Probably the most challenging components in terms of numerical aerodynamic drag prediction are the wheels. Their contribution to the overall pressure distribution is significant, and the flow topology around the wheels is extremely complicated. Furthermore, deltas between different rim designs can be very small, normally in the range of only a few drag counts. Therefore, highly accurate numerical methods are needed to predict rim rankings and deltas. This paper presents experimental results of four different production rim designs, mounted to a modified production car. An accurate representation of the loaded, deformed tire geometry is used in all calculations for comparable conditions between wind tunnel and CFD.
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