TY - JOUR
T1 - A Correlation Study of Wind Tunnels for Reduced-Scale Automotive Aerodynamic Development
AU - Meinert, Frank
AU - Johannessen, Kristian
AU - Saito, Fernando
AU - Song, Bongha
AU - Barlow, Jewel
AU - Burton, David
AU - Cho, Taehwan
AU - Gouveia de Moraes, Luis Fernando
PY - 2016/4/5
Y1 - 2016/4/5
N2 - Wind tunnel testing of reduced-scale models is a valuable tool for aerodynamic development during the early stages of a new vehicle program, when basic design themes are being evaluated. Both full-and reduced-scale testing have been conducted for many years at the General Motors Aerodynamics Laboratory (GMAL), but with increased emphasis on aerodynamic drag reduction, it was necessary to identify additional facilities to provide increased test capacity. With vehicle development distributed among engineering teams around the world, it was also necessary to identify facilities local to those teams, to support their work. This paper describes a cooperative effort to determine the correlation among five wind tunnels: GMAL, the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel (GLMWT) at the University of Maryland, the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE/ALA) TA-2 Wind Tunnel in Brazil, the Monash University Wind Tunnel in Australia, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute Low Speed Wind Tunnel (KARI LSWT). Correlation tests were conducted using a vehicle model with interchangeable body modules and additional parts, to determine the relationships of measured aerodynamic force and moment coefficients among the tunnels. Despite the significant differences among facilities, the correlation results were satisfactory for reduced-scale wind tunnel development of future General Motors Co. (GM) vehicles. Correlation equations were defined, allowing conversion of data from one tunnel to equivalent values at another. This paper will present the physical descriptions and airflow characteristics of the wind tunnels, the test equipment and procedures, and the correlation results.
AB - Wind tunnel testing of reduced-scale models is a valuable tool for aerodynamic development during the early stages of a new vehicle program, when basic design themes are being evaluated. Both full-and reduced-scale testing have been conducted for many years at the General Motors Aerodynamics Laboratory (GMAL), but with increased emphasis on aerodynamic drag reduction, it was necessary to identify additional facilities to provide increased test capacity. With vehicle development distributed among engineering teams around the world, it was also necessary to identify facilities local to those teams, to support their work. This paper describes a cooperative effort to determine the correlation among five wind tunnels: GMAL, the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel (GLMWT) at the University of Maryland, the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE/ALA) TA-2 Wind Tunnel in Brazil, the Monash University Wind Tunnel in Australia, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute Low Speed Wind Tunnel (KARI LSWT). Correlation tests were conducted using a vehicle model with interchangeable body modules and additional parts, to determine the relationships of measured aerodynamic force and moment coefficients among the tunnels. Despite the significant differences among facilities, the correlation results were satisfactory for reduced-scale wind tunnel development of future General Motors Co. (GM) vehicles. Correlation equations were defined, allowing conversion of data from one tunnel to equivalent values at another. This paper will present the physical descriptions and airflow characteristics of the wind tunnels, the test equipment and procedures, and the correlation results.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978862929&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4271/2016-01-1598
DO - 10.4271/2016-01-1598
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84978862929
VL - 9
SP - 680
EP - 694
JO - SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars: Mechanical Systems
JF - SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars: Mechanical Systems
SN - 1946-3995
IS - 2
ER -