Comparison of flow characteristics behind squareback bluff-bodies with and without wheels
Journal article, 2023

The wake dynamics of two referenced variations of the squareback Windsor model with and without wheels is numerically studied by performing improved delayed detached eddy simulation. Numerical assessments are validated against publicly available experimental data. The focus of this study is on the wake states influenced by the wheels and the thick oncoming floor boundary layer. Results show that the addition of the wheels significantly changes the aerodynamic forces, the underbody flow, and the wake topology. The wake bi-stability is also enhanced with wheels in place due to the increased curvature of lateral shear layers in the near wake. However, the bi-stable behavior is largely suppressed when immersed in a thick boundary layer. These alterations depend on the degree of interaction between the wake recirculation and the bottom flow, and such degree is strongly affected by the underbody flow momentum. The evolution of low-order flow organizations and complementary spectral analysis highlight the differences in the coherent dynamics of the wake. The finding of this present work suggests that the wake bi-stability behind the squareback body can exist not only for a simplified geometry but also for a more realistic car with wheels in real-world upstream conditions.

Author

Xinchao Su

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Fluid Dynamics

National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Safety Technology for Rail Vehicle

Central South University

Kan He

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Fluid Dynamics

Kewei Xu

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Marine Technology

Guangjun Gao

National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Safety Technology for Rail Vehicle

Central South University

Sinisa Krajnovic

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2)

Physics of Fluids

1070-6631 (ISSN) 1089-7666 (eISSN)

Vol. 35 3 035114

Subject Categories

Other Physics Topics

Vehicle Engineering

Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics

DOI

10.1063/5.0138305

More information

Latest update

3/23/2023