Extended Study of Full-Scale Wind Tunnel Test and Simulation Analysis Based on DrivAer Model

There is a great demand for car model series that can meet the needs of today’s research about vehicle aerodynamics due to the limitations of models used in the past. This paper focuses on the introduction of the extension of DrivAer model and discussions about the model’s experimental and simulation results. On the basis of DrivAer model, the upgrade and innovation of pickup styling back and concept of perception testing are added. Specifically, the SUV back and the Pickup back are redesigned in combination with Chinese aerodynamic design trend. The experiments were performed in a full-scale aero-acoustic wind tunnel with ground simulation system, consisting of boundary layer control system and five-belt system. Base on the wind tunnel experimental results, it can be found that the ground simulation has obviously influence on the drag coefficient, but has no influence on the distribution of surface pressure in upper body. The close state of the grilles, the absence of mirrors, and the fully enclosed of rims can significantly reduce the drag coefficient. Digital wind tunnel (DWT) simulation and open road (OR) simulation have been completed and verified with experimental results. It can be concluded that DWT simulation with the same geometry as the real wind tunnel performs better than the OR simulation. The maximum difference between the experimental results and the DWT simulation results does not exceed 2% and DWT simulation also performs well in the surface pressure simulation.