One-Way Fluid Structure Interaction of a Utility Vehicle Splitter using CFD Modelling

Connor Wright; Mohammad Al-Rawi

doi:10.37934/cfdl.15.12.3443

Authors

Connor Wright Centre for Engineering and Industrial Design (CEID), Waikato institute of Technology-Te Pūkenga, Hamilton, New Zealand
Mohammad Al-Rawi Chemical and Materials Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.15.12.3443

Keywords:

One-Way Fluid Structure Interaction, Ute Aerodynamics, Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

The Utility Vehicle, commonly known as a “ute” in New Zealand, and a “pickup” in other countries, is very popular for work, recreation and motorsport. This report investigates how the addition of a front splitter influences the handling ability on a Ford Courier Ute, for better aerodynamics during racing. Computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) methods and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) were used to investigate the one-way fluid structure interaction of the speed of the Ute with and without the splitter modification. Three configurations of the splitter were modelled and analysed using SolidWorks 2022, CFD and FEA packages. The ground clearance between the splitter and the road was set at three heights, 200 mm, 150 mm and 50 mm. These designs were compared with the control, in terms of the amount of downforce, drag and aerodynamic efficiency. The ground clearance of 150 mm was optimal, in terms of the parameters investigated. The findings from this paper may inspire Ute enthusiasts to fit a splitter to their Ute for racing applications.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Connor Wright, Centre for Engineering and Industrial Design (CEID), Waikato institute of Technology-Te Pūkenga, Hamilton, New Zealand

conwri38@student.wintec.ac.nz

Mohammad Al-Rawi, Chemical and Materials Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

mohammad.al-rawi@wintec.ac.nz

References

Mariaprakasam, Rafiqi Daniel Ramadhan, Shabudin Mat, Pakharuddin Mohd Samin, Norazila Othman, Mastura Ab Wahid, and Mazuriah Said. "Review on Flow Controls for Vehicles Aerodynamic Drag Reduction." Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences 101, no. 1 (2023): 11-36. https://doi.org/10.37934/arfmts.101.1.1136.

Hachimy, Fatima-zahra, Ashraf A. Omar, and Omar Elsayed. "The accuracy of the numerical solution in predicting Ahmed body components drag coefficients." CFD Letters 14, no. 5 (2022): 24-32. https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.14.5.2432.

Alshqirate, Abed Alrzaq, Dastan Zrar Ghafoor, and Sachin L. Borse. "CFD Analysis of Flow Over Pickup Truck with And Without Covering Cargo Area Using OpenFOAM." Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences 90, no. 1 (2022): 40-51. https://doi.org/10.37934/arfmts.90.1.4051

Yang, Zhigang, and Bahram Khalighi. "CFD simulations for flow over pickup trucks." SAE paper 2005-01 (2005): 0547. https://doi.org/10.4271/2005-01-0547

Al-Rawi, Mohammad, and Abderrahmane Oumssount. "One-Way Fluid Structure Interaction of a Go-Kart Spoiler Using CFD Analysis." In Proceedings, vol. 49, no. 1, p. 51. MDPI, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2020049051

Estrada, Gustavo. "Mercedes-AMG GTR: Aerodynamics for the Record." In Progress in Vehicle Aerodynamics and Thermal Management: 11th FKFS Conference, Stuttgart, September 26-27, 2017 11, pp. 135-144. Springer International Publishing, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67822-1_8

Gönüldinc, Okan, and Steffen Hölzel. "Adaptive Aerodynamik–Innovation des Porsche 911 Turbo." In Karosseriebautage Hamburg: 13. ATZ-Fachtagung, pp. 159-174. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-05980-4_18

Raghuvanshi, Akash Chaudhary, and Tushar Srivastav. "Design and development of foldable kart chassis." Materials Today: Proceedings 2, no. 4-5 (2015): 1707-1713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2015.07.004

Yudianto, Aan, Herminarto Sofyan, and Naufal Annas Fauzi. "Aerodynamic Characteristics of Overtaking Bus under Crosswind: CFD Investigation." CFD Letters 14, no. 8 (2022): 20-32. https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.14.8.2032

Zakher, Bassem Nashaat, Mostafa El-Hadary, Mohammed Abd Elfatah Elgohary, and Ibrahim M. El Fahham. "A Comparison Between Experimental Life Road Simulation and Computational Fluid Dynamics and Fluid Structure Interaction for Sedan Car." CFD Letters 14, no. 2 (2022): 81-97. https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.14.2.8197

Tiew, Hedy Soon Keey, Ming Wei Lee, Wei Shyang Chang, Mohammad Hafifi Hafiz Ishak, and Farzad Ismail. "Fluid-structure interaction on the design of fully assembled Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Prototype Car." CFD Letters 12, no. 12 (2020): 115-136. https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.12.12.115136

Gilliéron, Patrick, and Azeddine Kourta. "Aerodynamic drag reduction by vertical splitter plates." Experiments in fluids 48, no. 1 (2010): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-009-0705-7

Szudarek, Maciej, Konrad Kamieniecki, Sylwester Tudruj, and Janusz Piechna. "Towards Balanced Aerodynamic Axle Loading of a Car with Covered Wheels—Inflatable Splitter." Energies 15, no. 15 (2022): 5543. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15155543

Bhattacharjee, Sourajit, B. B. Arora, and Vishesh Kashyap. Optimization of race car front splitter placement using CFD. No. 2019-01-5097. SAE Technical Paper, 2019. https://doi.org/ 10.4271/2019-01-5097

Formula 1 Dictionary. (n.d.). Downforce. https://www.formula1-dictionary.net/downforce.html [Accessed 6 May 2023]

Car Jam. (2022). Popular New Zealand Vehicles. https://www.carjam.co.nz/nz-fleet/ [Accessed 6 May 2023].

Chowdhury, Harun, Raymond Juwono, Mohamed Zaid, Rezaul Islam, Bavin Loganathan, and Firoz Alam. "An experimental study on of the effect of various deflectors used for light trucks in Indian subcontinent." Energy Procedia 160 (2019): 34-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.115

Chowdhury, Harun, Bavin Loganathan, Israt Mustary, Hazim Moria, and Firoz Alam. "Effect of various deflectors on drag reduction for trucks." Energy Procedia 110 (2017): 561-566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.185