Abstract
With the advent of high performance computers and more efficient numerical algorithms, computational fluid dynamics(CFD) has come out as a modem alternative for reducing the use of wind tunnels test in automotive engineering. However, in spite of the fact that many competent researchers have made all their talents in developing turbulence model over since the past dozen or more years, it has been an important impediment in using the CFD effectively to design machinery and to diagnose or to improve engineering problems in the industry since the turbulence model has been acting as the Achilles' tendon in aspect of the reliability even to this time. In this study, Reynolds-averaged Wavier-Stokes equations were solved to simulate an incompressible turbulent flow around a bus-like bluff body near ground plane. In order to investigate the effect of the discretisation schemes and turbulence model on the aerodynamic forces several turbulence models with five convective difference schemes are adopted. From the results of this study, it is clear that choice of turbulence model and discretisation scheme profoundly affects the computational outcome. The results also show that the adoption of RNG $k-\varepsilon$ turbulence model and nonlinear quadratic turbulence model with the second order accurate discretisation scheme predicts fairly well the aerodynamic coefficients.