engleski

Aerodynamic design of a solar road vehicle

Solar road vehicles have very specific design requirements. This makes their aerodynamic characteristics quite different from classic sedan vehicles. In the present study, the computational model of a typical solar road vehicle is developed to investigate its aerodynamic forces and flow characteristics. Computations are performed assuming the steady viscous flow and using the Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes equations along with the k-ω turbulence model. The obtained results indicate some important findings that are commonly not present for classic sedan vehicles. In particular, a contribution of the viscous drag force to the overall drag force is considerably larger (41%) than it is the case for the standard passenger road vehicles, where the form drag force dominates over the viscous drag force. Surface pressure distribution patterns indicate a favorable aerodynamic design of this vehicle. In particular, larger pressure coefficients on the top of the vehicle body as compared to the bottom surface contribute to increasing a downforce and thus the vehicle traction. The airfoil-shaped cross-section of the designed cockpit canopy has favorable properties with respect to reduction of the aerodynamic drag force.

Solar electric vehicle ; Aerodynamic design and forces ; Computational model ; Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations ; k-ω turbulence model.

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