Numerical investigation of aerodynamic effects and energy loss in the front part of a particular vehicle

In this thesis, a numerical study investigating the aerodynamic effects and loss of energy in the front part of a particular car has been made. For this purpose, the air resistance affecting the front part of the vehicle and its effect on energy consumption has been analyzed. Firstly, the vehicle with certain dimensions has been modeled. Three dimensional air flow simulation has been applied to the representative car model which has been designed in the Solidworks program, by using k-ε turbulence model through Ansys Fluent software. The meshing structure of the vehicle has been generated by using finite elements method. For the solution part in Ansys, the free flow velocity of 27 m/s is taken as the boundary conditions and the air flow properties have been determined. The aerodynamic characteristics such as drag and lift coefficients are calculated for the car model with closed front panel. Thus, by analyzing the flow Fluent program, the drag coefficient (Cd), which affects the preform of the car, is found. Also, the effects of these results on energy consumption has been investigated. After that, the analyzes have been separately carried out again by drilling a hole and placing the grid in the front part of the vehicle. In addition, the variation of the aerodynamic drag coefficient and energy consumption resulting from adding a wind turbine behind the hole in the front section of the vehicle has been investigated. As a result, it has been observed that the energy consumption in vehicles with hole, grille or turbine in their front part is more than the energy consumption of closed form vehicle. However, with the help of the wind turbine, which is added to the vehicle, it is seen that the energy generated is much more than the loss of energy generated by the main model vehicle. Thus, it has been shown that some of the aerodynamic energy losses, which affects the vehicle, can be recovered with the aid of wind turbine. Keywords: Aerodynamics, drag coefficient, vehicle, Ansys Fluent, fuel consumption