Aerodynamic Analysis of High Energy Efficiency Vehicles by Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation

Abstract

The growing demand for energy efficiency gains in vehicles has led to several advances in more technological and efficient driving units, projects using lighter and more resistant materials and, in particular, a deeper study of aerodynamic studies in order to understand the fluid flow around the object of study. This work presents an aerodynamic study for a vehicle of high-energy efficiency, through computational fluid dynamics simulation in Ansys Fluent software. The main objective is to obtain the traction and drag force vectors acting on the vehicle at different speeds and to better understand the airflow before, during and after contact with the vehicle. With the possession of results, it was facilitated the implementation of improvements that enabled the vehicle to operate even more efficiently.