Prediction of drag increase due to flow through automobile's cooling system

자동차 냉각장치를 통하는 유동에 의한 항력 변화 예측

Using a commercial flow-analysis code VSAERO, a method to predict the drag of an automobile induced by the intake air of the cooling system has been devised. Given the pressure loss coefficient across the radiator, which varies with the radiator shape and the local Re, a simplified model of the internal flow is coupled with VSAERO to find the mass-flow rate through the car. The flow rate is obtained iteratively and that, in turn, gives the drag associated with this flow, which essentially is the momentum carried by the drained air. The results of a few sample cases are presented for two front-end shapes in combination with varying radiator frontal area.