Mesh Optimization for Ground Vehicle Aerodynamics

Mesh optimization strategy for estimating accurate drag of a ground vehicle is proposed based on examining the effect of different mesh parameters. The optimized mesh parameters were selected using design of experiment (DOE) method to be able to work in a limited memory environment and in a reasonable amount of time but without compromising the accuracy of results. The study was further extended to take into account the car model size effect. Three car model sizes have been investigated and compared with MIRA scale wind tunnel results. Parameters that lead to drag value closer to experiment with less memory and computational time have been identified. Scaling the optimized mesh size with the length of car model was successfully used to predict the drag of the other car sizes with reasonable accuracy. This investigation was carried out using STARCCM+ commercial software package, however the findings can be applied to any other CFD package.