Abstract
Drag reduction of a running vehicle is very important issue for the energy savings and emission reduction of its power train. Especially for a solar powered electric vehicle, the drag reduction and weight lightening are two serious problems to be solved to extend its driving distance under the given energy condition. In this study, the ground effect of an airfoil shaped road vehicle was studied for an optimum body design of an ultra-light solar powered electric vehicle. Clark-Y airfoil type was adopted to the body shape of the model vehicle to reduce aerodynamic drag. From the study, it was found that the drag of the model vehicle was reduced as the height(h) between ground and the lower surface of the model vehicle was decreased. It is due to the reduction of the down-wash decreasing the induced drag of the vehicle. The lift was also decreased as the height decreased. It is due to the turbulent boundary layer developed beneath the vehicle body. The drag is classified into two types; the form and friction drag. The fraction of form drag to friction one is 76 to 24 on the model vehicle. As the height(h) of the model vehicle from the ground surface increases the form drag also increases but the friction drag is in reverse.
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