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2013-01-9020
Published 10/20/2013
Copyright © 2013 SAE International
doi:10.4271/2013-01-9020
saecomveh.saejournals.org

Reducing Vehicle Drag Force Through a Tapered Rear Side

Wall
Behrang Daryakenari
University Kebangsaan Malaysia

Shahrir Abdullah
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Rozli Zulkifli
UKM

ABSTRACT
Recent fluctuation in oil prices has generated interest in fuel-efficient vehicles, especially their aerodynamic profile.
The literature indicates that turbulent wakes that form at the rear end of the vehicle contribute to vehicle drag in a major
way. Minor studies have addressed the effects of rear-end wall angle to the drag force through effecting the wake behind
the vehicle; however, this study assesses the reduction of drag using angular side walls. A previous simulation of external
airflow over Ahmed's body was investigated, utilizing the k-ω SST models. Different angles of side walls were analyzed,
and a maximum 36.85% reduction in drag coefficient was achieved using an angular rear side wall. The turbulent model
was validated and the effectiveness of angular rear side walls thus proven. The study then simulated the flow for a road
vehicle model to investigate the real world effect of angular rear side walls. The results showed up to 11.39% reduction in
drag coefficient, supporting the effect of angular rear walls on reducing drag coefficient.

CITATION: Daryakenari, B., Abdullah, S., and Zulkifli , R., "Reducing Vehicle Drag Force Through a Tapered Rear Side
Wall," SAE Int. J. Commer. Veh. 6(2):2013, doi:10.4271/2013-01-9020.
____________________________________

INTRODUCTION numerical investigations. As a result of both the simplicity of

Mindful of the ever-increasing cost of engine fuel and its
projected dwindling supply in the future under an escalating
demand for the commodity, vehicle manufacturers are in a
competitive race to find ways and means to optimize mileage
for every unit volume of fuel. Apparently, one of the
observable means to address the aforesaid objective is to
reduce the drag forces generated by a vehicle in motion,
thereby considering aerodynamic principles in designing
vehicle bodies. As we know, the separation of the flow which
leads to the production of a wake behind the vehicle has the
major contribution to the vehicle's drag. Wake's complexity
and full three-dimensional structure, can cause considerable
difficulties for numerical simulations and experimental
studies.
Because of a convenient number of experimental results,
the Ahmed body (Fig.1) which was first introduced by
Ahmed et al. [1] has been used as a validation case for many
the model and the wide range of experimental results, the
Ahmed body is an ideal candidate for CFD studies.
Using k-ε turbulent model to simulate flow over Ahmed
body, Baxendale et al. [2] results were noticeably higher than
the experimental results and Makowski et al. [11] results
tended to suggest an excessive CFD prediction of drag
coefficient values. Gilliéron and Chometon [4] used the RNG
k-ε turbulence model and their results for drag coefficient on
average were approximately 25% higher than the Ahmed
experimental data. Large eddy simulation was performed by
Hinterberger et al. [6], and Krajnovic & Davidson [8, 9].
Although they could get good results but the problem with
their work, however, was utilizing the low Reynolds Number
(2×105) in compare with a similar experiment using 5×106.
Hinterberger et al. [6] performed another numeric study using
the Finite Volume Code LESOCC2 (Large Eddy Simulation
on Curvilinear Coordinates). Although for the front region

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the results showed very good agreement but in the back
region, there were some differences between the
computations and the experiment that mainly concerned the
separation point of the flow over the slant part. Fares [3] used
the LBM (Lattice Boltzmann Method) to simulate the
unsteady flow over two slant angles of the rear part of the
Ahmed reference body (25° and 35°), which successfully
predicted the flow structure for that case as 35°, but for the
other case, it predicted a separation area longer than in the
experiment. Performing another numerical study on the same
cases, Yao et al. [16] employed two turbulence models (the
standard SST model and the k-ε model), and due to this
study, the SST (shear stress transport) model had better
performance in predicting the separation region. As with
other studies, the simulation did not capture the initial
separation of the case with a 25° angle while they did for the
case with a 35° angle. Kapadia et al.[7] used DES (detached
eddy simulation) model for the first time for ground vehicle
flow analysis which explores the possibility of using such
model as a commercial software and turbulence scheme
respectively in automobile industries. Comparison of the
results with the results obtained by RANS model for same
time -steps showed the ability of DES in capturing unsteady
structure of the flow with minor flow details than RANS.
Guilmineau [5] studied the Ahmed body with 25° and 35°
slant back by solving unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier
Stokes Equations (URANSE). All examined turbulence
models, predicted the structure of the flow correctly for the
35° slant angle but for the 25° slant angle, all models
predicted huge separation zone, while the experiment shows
reattachment of the flow on the slant back about half-way
down the center of the face. On the other hand, the EASM
model (explicit algebraic stress model) gave a better
estimation of the drag coefficient. Minguez et al.[13] used
high-order large-eddy simulations (LESs) at a lower
Reynolds Number than Ahmed's experiment (7.6×105). The
topology of the flow over the body front shows a
recirculation bubble larger than the experimental results that
resulted in overestimated drag coefficient.
As can be seen in the previous literature, despite its
simplicity, the Ahmed body still constitutes a challenge to
numerical algorithms and turbulence modeling due to its
complex three-dimensional wake vortex interaction. In this
paper after an accurate simulation of flow over Ahmed body
using k-ω SST turbulence model, the effect of tapered rear
side wall on reducing the size of the wake that consequently
will reduce the drag force of the vehicle was studied. Upon
getting considerable results, the same method was utilized to
investigate the effect of angular rear side wall in for a real car
model. The results that show significant reduction of drag
coefficients of the simple car model and a real road car
proved the angular real side wall's positive performance to
modify the drag force of a vehicle.
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THE TURBULENCE MODEL
Previously, the SST model was designed for use in
aeronautics applications; later as its efficiency was proven it
has been used in most industrial applications. This model is a
two-equation, eddy-viscosity model that combines the best of
the k-ω and k-ε models. In a comparison, the k-ω model is
noticeably more accurate than the k-ε model inside the
boundary layer, whereas outside boundary layer, the k-ε
model is a better choice. This capability of the k-ω SST
model enables it to predict the separation point accurately
[12], and since for our case separation of the flow from the
side walls and the slant part of the model are very important
to determine the drag force, we preferred to use this turbulent
model. Using a blended function enables the k-ω SST model
to switch between these two models without user influence
and achieve an accurate result. The numbers of coefficients
used in this study are as follows:
THE PHYSICAL CASE AND
NUMERICAL METHOD
For the simple car model Ahmed model which is 1044
mm long, 288 mm high and 389 mm wide was used. It has a
slant back with a 30° angle and 222 mm length (Fig. 1). The
velocity of the air was set as 60 m/s, Reynolds number was
4.29 million based on model length as in the Ahmed
experimental study, but for the real car model, 33.33 m/s was
used because of the speed limit on the highways. The ground
was considered constant, the same as Ahmed's experiment. At
the inflow section a uniform axial velocity profile U∞ is
imposed, while a non-slip boundary condition at the ground is
prescribed.
After validating the flow structure and drag data of this
model, an angular side wall was added to the rear end of the
model (Fig. 2). The distance from the rear vertical base of the
model (334 mm) was chosen based on the relative rear seat
distance of our real car model from its rear base. We
considered not reducing the seating area for the passengers.
The effect of this angle (α) was studied for five angles,
namely, 2.5°, 5°, 10°, 15° and 20°. Since the performance of
such an angular side wall in reducing the drag coefficient was
approved, the same method was used to study the effect of
manipulating the angle of the side wall on drag reduction of a
real road vehicle (Fig 3). This model was a quarter size scale
of the real hatchback car that includes the entire engine and
under body components in order to obtain the most accurate
results. Every angle from 1° to 6° with a 1° increment (Fig 4)
were studied for this model and promising results in drag
reduction were achieved. The models were first generated in
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Catia and OpenFoam which is a CFD software was used
respectively to generate the mesh and simulate the flow over
the body.
The volume mesh model is triangle mesh. The domain
size for both models is 4 m × 20 m × 4 m with very tense
mesh, which has about 11 million cells in order to achieve the
required accuracy.
The volume mesh model used triangle mesh. Since the
flow over a vehicle has adverse pressure gradients or
separation regions that need to be properly resolved a y+
(Dimensionless wall distance) of 1 was considered. For
determining the mesh size over the vehicle for getting the
accurate results, several simulations were run for the sizes
between one and three millimeters. The drag coefficient
result for the 3 millimeters mesh size showed more than 5
percent disparity with Ahmed's experimental result [1]. For
the sizes below 2 millimeter the disparity was below 3
percent. The results did not change significantly for smaller
mesh size, therefore we chose 2 millimeter mesh size that
beside reasonable error has the lower convergence time.
Surface mesh is square with about 550,000 cells. This size
makes it impossible to present here because of its density.
The number of surface cells for the real car model is about
850,000 since it includes more components in compare with
Ahmed Body. The model was situated 4 meters from the
front of the domain.
Figure 1. The Ahmed body, dimensions are in mm
Figure 2. Ahmed model with angular side wall
NUMERICAL RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
The Ahmed Body
Since producing a steady flow is essential for stability and
accuracy requirements, the simulation was run several
hundred of time steps for convergence of the results. The
symmetry of the time-averaged flow around the vertical
symmetrical plane was used as another indicator of the
convergence in time of the average flow.
To validate the model, the experimental results for the
Ahmed body with a 30° slant angle obtained by Vino et al.
[15] and Lienhart [10] were chosen. Vino utilized smoke
injection to visualize the flow pattern on the slant part of the
body. The flow structures obtained by the numerical results
are in positive agreement with the experimental results by
Vino (Fig.5) and captured the flow separation on the slant
part of the body. The results obtained are also in agreement
with the work of Spohn and Gilliéron [14], who reported the
detached flow region on the slant which are close and mixed
with the flow in the wake.
In Figure 6, the separation of flow over the slant part is
obvious and in agreement with Vino and Ahmed's findings
over the slant at a 30° angle.
Figure 3. Real road vehicle (1/4th scale model),
dimensions are in mm
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Figure 4. Real road vehicle with angular side wall
Figure 5. Centerline separation on the slant part (side
view); (a) Experimental result, (b) Numerical result [15]
The results obtained are also in agreement with the work
of Spohn and Gilliéron [14], who reported the detached flow
region on the slant which are close and mixed with the flow
in the wake. According to Ahmed et al. there are two
recirculatory flow regions (vortex) in the wake structure
situated one over another. The flow detaches along the
slanted surface and develops a single, significantly larger
recirculation region within the wake which is in agreement
with Ahmed's findings.
Figure 6. Separation phenomena over the slant part of
the body (Streamlines of center plane has been shown)
The computed drag coefficient is 0.373, which shows less
than a 2% disparity to the Ahmed et al. [1] result at 0.378.
After validating the model, the same computational
domain was used to study the effect of the angular side wall
on drag force. The results from manipulating this angle (α)
are depicted in Table 1.
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Table 1. Drag reduction of Ahmed body for different side
wall angles
According to this table, it is clear that increasing the
sidewall angle (α) caused magnificent reduction of drag
coefficient. As we know, drag occurs because of the high
pressure distribution in front of the model and low pressure
distribution at its back. This variation in pressure produces
the drag force in opposite direction of a moving car that pulls
back the vehicle. Therefore, if somehow we can increase the
pressure at the back of the vehicle and reduce the variation of
that pressure, then the drag force will be reduced. Figure 7
shows the pressure distribution on the centerline of the back
of the models. The higher pressure of the models with higher
side angles is clear and caused a reduction of drag force for
these mentioned models. Meanwhile it is worth mentioning
that the lift coefficient remains constant while increasing the
sidewall angle that showes that the stability of the vehicle
doese not reduced.
Figure 7. Pressure distribution over the centreline of the
back of the models
Drag force is associated with the formation of a wake
behind a moving vehicle that then reduces the pressure
behind the vehicle. Formation of wake can be readily seen
behind the Ahmed body in Figure 8a.
Meanwhile, a reduction of wake size behind this model
with angular side walls is clear in Figure 8 after convergence
of the results. This Figure is an excellent explanation for
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lower drag coefficient of the models having higher side wall original Ahmed body is obvious in Figure 9 for the 30° slant
angles. angle which is in agreement with the experimental results.
Meanwhile, it is noticable that the c-pillar vortices, as defined
by Ahmed et al.[1] are formed earlier for the model with the
angular side wall and almost dissapear earlier, while they do
continue even 256mm away from the behind of the original
model
According to Table 1, the amount of drag reduction is less
for angles between 15° and 20° rather than for the previous
ones. It is the flow detachment from the sidewall's surface
(Fig. 10) that lessens the effect of angular sidewall on the
wake of the back of the model.

Figure 8. Wake structure behind the models with a) 0°,

b) 5°, c) 10°, d) 15° and e) 20° side wall (up view).

Figure 10. Flow separation over the angular side wall

with 20° angle (above view)

A Real Vehicle Model

After establishing the method to use to simulate the flow
over the Ahmed model accurately, the same method was used
to study the flow over a real road vehicle. The simulated
ground vehicle had a big wake behind it (Fig.11) that causes a
low pressure region behind the car and high drag coefficient
as a consequence (0.35).

Figure 9. Wake structure behind original model (right)

and the model with 20° angle side wall (left) on the
planes a) 900mm, b) 1000mm, c)1044mm, d) 1100mm,
e)1150mm and f) 1300mm away from the front of the
models.

Figure 9 illustrates the flow structure on different planes

behind the original model and the model with a 20° angle for
the side wall. The smaller size of the wake is obvious for the
model with the angular side wall, and it almost vanishes at
Figure 11. Flow structure on the center plane (a) and on
256mm from the behind of the model. The formation of C-
the plane z/L= 0.15 above the ground (b)
pillar vortexes which has been captured by Ahmed et al. [1]
and Lienhart et al. [10] at different distances behind the
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Table 2 shows the results of manipulating the side wall
angle (α) of this model. According to this table, a reduction of
drag coefficient by increasing the angle of the side walls is
obvious. This reduction is more than 5% for α = 1°, while the
slope of the reduction keeps getting smaller to as far as 0.5%
between a 5° and 6° angle. This reduction of slop indicates
that like the Ahmed body, increasing the side wall angle
beyond a specific angle will not cause massive reduction in
the drag coefficient of a vehicle. Figure 12 plots the pressure
distribution over the centreline of the back of the original
model and the model with a 6° angle sidewall.
Table 2. Drag reduction of real car model for different
sidewall angles
Figure 12. Pressure distribution over the centreline of
the back of the Original and the model with 6° angle
sidewall
Higher pressure distribution over the back centreline of
the model with an angular sidewall when compare with the
original model is obvious and indicate what causes the lower
drag coefficient of this model.
Figure 13 compares the wake structures on the different
planes behind the original model to the model with the 6°
angle sidewall. This figure shows the angular sidewall's
ability to reduce the wake size that causes higher pressure
behind the vehicle (Fig 12) which then consequently reduces
the drag force of the vehicle.
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Figure 13. Wake structure behind original model (right)
and the model with 6° angle side wall (left) on the planes
a) 1017mm, b) 1117mm, c)1217mm, d) 1317mm,
e)1517mm and f) 1717mm away from the front of the
models.
CONCLUSION
Air flows around both the Ahmed body and a real road
vehicle were simulated successfully with very good
agreement based on prior experimental results. Subsequently,
using the same methodology, the effect of an angular sidewall
was investigated on both models.
The results indicate that using an angular sidewall is a
promising way to reduce the drag of a vehicle, where by
applying that tapered rear sidewall on a real ground vehicle,
up to 11% reduction occurs for the drag coefficient.
Meanwhile, the results indicate that there is a limitation to
increasing the angle of a sidewall since the drag coefficient
will not lessen further above certain specific angles due to
flow separation. The excellent agreements obtained from the
data generated by these simulation results in the present study
successfully verify the effect of use of an angular sidewall on
the aerodynamic forces of real road vehicle.
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