A Zonal Method for Predicting External Automobile Aerodynamics.
Larsson, Lars, Leif Broberg, and Carl-Erik Janson.
SAE Technical Paper Series 910595, International Congress and Exposition, Detroit Michigan. 1991.
Abstract
A system of computer codes for investigating the flow around three-dimensional bodies is introduced. The system is based on the zonal approach, where different methods are used in three different regions of the flow field. By tailoring the method to the flow properties in each region, computations of the flow around the body may be carried out in a fraction of the time required for a single-zone Navier-Stokes solution. In the paper, results are presented for an automobile-like body frequently used as a test case in automotive aerodynamics. It is shown that the important features of the wake flow are well predicted, although the the change from the high drag to the low drag case near the critical slant angle is more gradual than indicated by the experiments.