On the aerodynamic loading and deformation of convertible car roofs

J. J. Knight*, A. D. Lucey, C. T. Shaw

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

    Abstract

    Convertible vehicle hoods are known to deform away from their designated showroom shape as a result of aerodynamic loading. The ultimate aim of the work is to produce a computer-based methodology to model the fluid-structure interaction over a convertible vehicle hood. To develop an appropriate flow-structure coupling methodology, steady-state computations have been carried out for a two-dimensional model geometry. A commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package is used to calculate the pressure on the model roof. This CFD package is coupled to an in-house structural code that models the structural mechanics of the flexible roof. Furthermore, a very rapid hybrid means of generating the aerodynamic loading is developed because the multiple solutions required in a complete wall-flow iteration procedure can be computationally very expensive. Solutions generated using the modelling concepts have been compared with wind-tunnel testing on a physical model.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationSAE Technical Papers
    PublisherSAE International
    Volume2001
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 5 Mar 2001
    EventSAE 2001 World Congress - Detroit, MI, United States
    Duration: 5 Mar 20018 Mar 2001

    Publication series

    NameSAE Technical Papers
    PublisherSAE International
    ISSN (Print)0148-7191

    Conference

    ConferenceSAE 2001 World Congress
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityDetroit, MI
    Period5/03/018/03/01

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