Characterisation of the flow past real road vehicles with blunt afterbodies Online publication date: Sat, 05-Jul-2014
by Mathieu Grandemange; D. Ricot; C. Vartanian; T. Ruiz; O. Cadot
International Journal of Aerodynamics (IJAD), Vol. 4, No. 1/2, 2014
Abstract: The flows past two different road vehicles with blunt after-bodies are studied at Reynolds numbers 107. The boundary layer thickness and the pressure distribution around the body are characterised. Then, the wake is investigated through static pressure and velocity measurements. Similar properties are obtained for both vehicles; in particular the lowest pressure on the afterbody is reported on the lower part of the base. Hot-wire anemometry is also used to depict the dynamics of the flow. The detached shear from the roof behaves as free shear turbulent flows whereas the flow from the underbody rather corresponds to homogeneous shear turbulent flows. In addition, global mode dynamics is reported in the wake of one vehicle and is associated with an antisymmetric coupling of the lateral mixing layers. However, the intensity of this mode is limited and its maximum of amplitude is downstream of the recirculation bubble; therefore it may not be a contributor to the drag. Eventually, these results are analysed to orient future drag reduction control strategies.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Aerodynamics (IJAD):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook