Aerodynamic analysis of ultra-efficient vehicle prototype: effect of spoked wheels and different configurations

Abstract

As the world population and industry increase, the demand for sustainable and efficient energy accelerates each day. One of the most energy-consuming sectors is transportation, which accounted for 27% of the total energy consumption in the US in 2022. This context provides the need to research and innovate on efficient vehicles and academic programs such as SAE supermileage or Shell Eco-Marathon which inspire students to build ultra-efficient vehicles. In vehicle efficiency, aerodynamics has high importance, and designing a low-drag vehicle is a key step. The purpose of this study is to analyze the vehicle aerodynamics of an ultra-efficient vehicle prototype built by Unisabana Herons Electric Vehicles for Shell Eco-Marathon 2022, regarding the influence on drag by having different configurations on spoked wheels, such as open spoked wheels, covered spokes, covered wheels, and a whole different body that follows a streamlined shape. The methodology is to model CAD designs of streamlined shapes to cover the spokes or all the wheels and then solve a three-dimensional, steady-state, turbulent, and incompressible airflow using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to simulate these designs on Altair AcuSolve. The results show how covering the spokes and the wheels benefits the prototype aerodynamics by reducing the drag and the wake, and the importance of a streamlined body shape for an ultra-efficient vehicle. © 2024 SAE International. All Rights Reserved.