A device for reducing the form drag of vehicles

Abstract: The device comprises fan devices (2, 11, 13) associated with each wheel of the vehicle for creating respective auxiliary flows, and conveying devices (6), associated with the wheel housing, for directing the auxiliary flows, by means of a distributor (9) provided with a respective outlet opening (10), so that they sweep along the bottom of the motor vehicle and exit in the area of the truncated tail portion in order to create, at least partially, a so-called tailstream produced by means of a stationary ring vortex.

Description: The present invention relates to a device for reducing the form drag of vehicles. As is known, the aerodynamic drag coefficient of a car Cx can be regarded as being the sum of three terms: Cx = Cf + Cs + Ci Cf is the friction drag coefficient; Cs is the form drag coefficient; Ci is the induced drag coefficient (induced by the vortical "down-flow" of air, having a substantially longitudinal axis, behind the vehicle). As is known, the Cx of cars in the 1970's was on average 0.46 in Europe. In the 1980's, there was a drastic reduction of over 30% owing principally to the reduction in Ci. The distribution of the Cx in the above-mentioned elements was roughly as follows: In the 1970's: Cx = 0.03 + 0.23 + 0.20 = 0.46 In the 1980's: Cx = 0.03 + 0.21 + 0.06 = 0.30 Today, further advances can be made by acting principally on Cs, that is to say, on the "form". However, at present, for reasons inherent in the increase of the space available for a given size, there appears to be a marked tendency to adopt bodies having parallelepipedal bases, the so-called "monovolumes". The parallelepiped, with the dimensional ratios of its sides used in motor vehicles, and in the presence of the ground, has a Cx of approximately 0.9. If its corners are rounded off, it can be reduced to approximately 0.25. However, bearing in mind the fact that it is necessary to make additions and modifications to the basic parallelepiped, such as: wheels and wheel housings; ducts for internal fanning flows and heat exchange; projections on the bottom for structural reasons and for reasons associated with housing the mechanical members; surface projections for producing the glazing, the slots for the doors and the covers, etc., the Cx increases substantially beyond 0.30, with deterioration compared with current values. The cause of this impairment is attributable to the increase in the form drag since it is not difficult to hold Ci at unchanged values, that is to say, approximately 0.05. It is well known that this increase is due to the fact that the parallelepiped is a "squat" body, that is to say, a "non-tapering" body, in other words, the areas of its cross-sections vary, as in Figure 1, much more sharply than in the case of the "tapering body" even when its corners are rounded off. A device according to the pre-characterising part of claim 1 is described in document WO-A-90/05084. The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for reducing the form drag in squat bodies such as, in an extreme case, parallelepipeds, and in any case the so-called "monovolumes". The benefits that can be obtained with the device according to the invention can also be extended, however, to so-called two- and three-volume configurations provided with a more or less "truncated" "tail". According to the present invention, the above-mentioned aim and other important aims are achieved with a device having the characteristics of claim 1. These characteristics and the advantages of the device according to the invention will become clear from the following detailed description and with reference to the appended drawings which are provided by way of non-limiting example and in which: Figure 1 is a variation diagram of the areas of the cross-sections as a function of the longitudinal co-ordinate x for "basic bodies" of motor vehicles; Figure 2 is a section through the centre of a wheel with an associated wheel housing provided with the device according to the invention; Figure 3 is a stepped section along the line III-III of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a stepped section along the line IV-IV of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a side view of a monovolume motor vehicle provided with the device forming the subject-matter of the invention; Figure 6 is a partial bottom view of the motor vehicle of Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a rear view of the vehicle in the direction of arrows VII-VII of Figure 5. Referring first of all to Figures 2 to 4, the wheel 1 of a motor vehicle is provided according to the invention with sets of blades 2, preferably sets of radial blades, which are capable of imparting a course indicated by the arrows to the flow captured at the outside by an air intake 3 provided with sets of blades 4 produced in a manner which will be explained hereinafter, and of advantageously conveying the flow to the inside of the wheel housing 5. The wheel housing is formed with a cavity and is equipped on its inside with a plurality of ducts 6 provided with respective inlet openings 7 which capture the flow created by the wheel and straighten it by means of fixed blade sets 8 delimiting the ducts. The flow, thus straightened, that is to say, devoid of transverse speed components, is introduced into a distributor 9 which is provided with an outlet aperture 10 having a flat cross-section, with a horizontal major axis. Typically, the flow generated by the rotation of the wheel 1 can be schematised as resulting from two effects: a) reaction effect caused by the blade sets 2 of the wheel, which impart to the fluid both axial and centrifugal actions by means of the pressures perpendicular to the walls; b) entraining effect caused by the tangential pressures which are produced when the air comes into contact with the walls, that is to say, the external surface of the wheel, including the tyre. According to the invention, the two flows combine to create a field of motion in the wheel housing 5 as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, converging in the ducts 6 through the inlet openings 7. The ducts 6 have a threefold aim: 1) to direct the flow towards the distributor 9 under acceleration; 2) to reduce the overall energy losses of the flow by conveying it into channels that have a low resistance because they are provided with smooth sets of blades 8, each of which is dimensioned in such a manner as to cause the currents of the individual ducts 6 to arrive in the distributor 9 at approximately the same speed (and pressure). It may be considered that the energy imparted by the wheel is the same for each emerging angular portion thereof but that, if it is not channelled, it will differ and become dispersed in large part in the vortical flows inside the large wheel housing space; 3) to eliminate the vortices having dimensions greater than those corresponding to the transverse dimensions of the ducts. In order to increase the two above-mentioned effects a) and b), the wheel 1 may also, according to the invention, be provided with a whole series of structural arrangements. Thus, in order to increase the reaction effect of the blade sets 2, the brake drum is also preferably provided with curved auxiliary blades 11, as shown in the Figure, which are capable of reducing the vortical effect of the exiting flow (analogously, a "fanned" brake disc may be adopted). But in order to increase the entraining effects, substantially radial auxiliary fins 12 and 13 are arranged on the wheel disc or on the tyre. Of course, the fins 13 provided on the tyre have to be very flexible and will also act as a protection for the side of the tyre. Because the blade sets 4 of the air intake 3 have to be curved in different manners depending upon whether the wheels are arranged on the left or right side of the vehicle, they are preferably produced in one piece with the boss 14, which also acts as the hub cap, while the radial blade sets 2 are the same for wheels of the left and right side, with substantial simplification in terms of structure and use. In addition, in order to prevent the flow generated by the wheel 1 from flowing back down in the reverse direction from the opening of the wheel housing 5, which opening is naturally necessary in order not to obstruct the rotation of the wheel and its rebounding motion, an edge with a pointed corner 15 is preferably produced on the lower contour of the wheel housing. On the upper contour 16 (Figure 3), the wheel housing 5 covers the wheel 1 extensively but allows the flow, which is substantially an entraining flow, to penetrate from the external face of the wheel into a cavity 17 of the wheel housing to converge with the flow leaving the internal face by the combined effect of the entraining action of this face and the reaction effect of the internal blade sets, and to be captured by the openings 7. The cavity 17 is in a form such that it can accommodate a stationary vortex such as 18 (Figure 2). Similar functions are performed by the ring vortex 19 on the internal face of the wheel as a result of the convergence of the entraining and reaction flows on that face. The flow leaving the distributor 9 is enriched with energy by the work performed by all of the rotating fin sets and blade sets of the wheel and is capable of transferring, by ejection, some of its energy to the flow affecting the bottom of the vehicle, which flow, on the other hand, is substantially drained of energetic potential owing to the losses it suffers on sweeping along the bottom of the vehicle where there are projections formed by elements designed in accordance with manufacturing, structural, etc. criteria, and hardly ever in accordance with aerodynamic criteria. These elements therefore oppose the flow with substantial resistance. To be more precise, with reference to Figures 5 to 7 in which three views of a monovolume motor vehicle are shown by way of example, it can be seen that each wheel-conveyor unit, such as RCA and RCP, affects its own limited area of the bottom, the zones Zi and Ze, respectively, with the aim of rendering uniform the energetic potential of the fluid which is about to become separated from the surface of the bottom in the area of the rear truncated portion B. The dimensioning of the entire system according to the invention is preferably such as also to render the above-mentioned energetic potential uniform with the flow which sweeps along the other surfaces of the vehicle, the side panels F and the roof T, the trace of which, with the surface of the truncated portion, defines the perimeter P thereof. It is thus possible, by ensuring that similar speed and pressure conditions are established along the entire peripheral contour of the truncated portion, to create a ring vortex R that is stationary with respect to the vehicle. This vortex, which is therefore "supported" on the truncated portion, induces in the external flow a convergence similar to that which would be obtained if the (solid) tail of the vehicle had not been removed from the truncated portion. The broken lines L in Figures 5 and 6 indicate the line of separation between the external field of motion and the internal field of motion, which is almost stagnant with respect to the vehicle, creating a sort of tailstream which is very beneficial in terms of reducing the total drag coefficient Cx of the vehicle. Of course, in order for the total energy benefit to be positive also, it is necessary for the energy saving obtained with the reduction in the coefficient Cx of the vehicle to be greater than the supplementary energy required at the wheels by the blade sets. In this connection, it should be noted that the suction by the air intakes provided on the wheels also serves to remove the boundary layer of the flow on the lower portion of the side panels, which is generally fairly thick owing to the previous separation of the flow in the converging portion of the side panels which is located behind the wheels. It should also be pointed out that the wheels are normally already provided with devices for the fanning thereof and, above all, for cooling the brakes. Therefore, the device forming the subject-matter of the present invention also replaces the above-mentioned device because it is also used to cool the brakes and wheels. Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the details of construction and forms of embodiment may vary widely with respect to those described and illustrated by way of non-limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention defined in the following claims.

Claims: A device for reducing the form drag of vehicles, comprising fanning means (2, 11, 13) for creating respective auxiliary airflows and conveying means, for directing the auxiliary airflows, by means of a distributor (9) provided with a respective outlet opening (10), so that they exit in the area of the truncated tail portion of the vehicle in order to create, at least partially, a so-called tailstream, characterised in that the fanning means (2, 11, 13) are associated with each wheel (1) of the vehicle, in that the conveying means are associated with the wheel housing (5) and in that the auxiliary airflows sweep along the bottom of the vehicle. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the tailstream is produced by means of a stationary ring vortex. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the fanning means (2, 11, 13) associated with each wheel (1) are constituted by at least one substantially radial blade set (2) causing a reaction effect which imparts to the fluid both axial and centrifugal actions. A device according to Claims 1 and 3, characterised in that there are associated with the fanning means (2, 11, 13) air intake means (3) having respective blade sets (4) with different curvatures for the two sides of the vehicle, and in that the air intake means (3) are produced in one piece with the hub cap boss (14) of the respective wheel. A device according to the preceding claims, characterised in that the conveying means associated with each wheel housing (5) comprise a plurality of ducts (6) which converge in the distributor (9) and in that the distributor (9) is provided with a flattened horizontal outlet opening (10) capable of creating a substantial entraining effect on the fluid layer sweeping along the bottom of the vehicle. A device according to the preceding claims, characterised in that the transverse extent of the openings (10) of the distributors (9) affect substantially the peripheral portion of the truncated areas, the energetic potential of which portion is to be increased in order to render it uniform with the remaining peripheral portion. A device according to Claims 1, 5 and 6, characterised in that the plurality of ducts (6) is delimited in a cavity (17) of the wheel housing (5) by corresponding fixed blades (8) which are capable of directing the auxiliary flow towards the distributor (9), under acceleration, of reducing the overall energy losses of the flow and of eliminating the vortices having dimensions greater than those corresponding to the transverse dimensions of the ducts (6). A device according to Claims 1 and 7, characterised in that the blades (8) are dimensioned in such a manner as to cause the currents of the individual ducts (6) to arrive in the rear distributor (9) at approximately the same speed and pressure. A device according to Claims 1 and 3, characterised in that each wheel comprises other, auxiliary blade sets (11) which are associated with the braking members and which are capable of increasing the reaction effect of the radial blade set (9). A device according to Claims 1 and 3, characterised in that it comprises other auxiliary fins (12, 13) which are associated with the disc of the wheel and/or with the tyre and which are capable of increasing the effect of entraining the flow produced as a result of the air coming into contact with the wheel (1). A device according to the preceding claims, characterised in that each wheel housing (5) is equipped on its lower contour with a pointed corner (15). A device according to Claim 1 and any one of Claims 2 to 11, characterised in that a portion of the auxiliary flows is used for cooling the brakes and the wheels.

Inventors: DI GIUSTO NEVIO, MORELLI ALBERTO, DI GIUSTO, NEVIO, MORELLI, ALBERTO
Applicants: FIAT AUTO SPA, TORINO POLITECNICO, FIAT AUTO S.P.A., POLITECNICO DI TORINO
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B62D35
IPC codes: B62D35, B60C23