Study of the Effects of Shape, Microstructure, and Surface Coating on the Aerodynamics of Automobiles

Yiliang Zhang

doi:10.54097/127wk973

Authors

Yiliang Zhang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/127wk973

Keywords:

Aerodynamics; Drag; Design; Shape; Microstructure; Surface coating.

Abstract

With the increase of global car sales, total energy consumption rose dramatically. Therefore to prevent severe energy crisis, reduction of the total consumption through improving the efficiency of energy usage is needed. This research paper aims to investigate how the aerodynamics of cars can be influenced by three key factors: shape, surface texture, and surface coatings. Through improved aerodynamics, the efficiency of fuel usage will be increased, thereby reducing the consumption of energy. In general, optimising the shape of the vehicle is able to produce the highest drag reduction rate as compared to surface texture and surface coating, this paper studied how adjusting the shape of the vehicle is able to change the drag coefficient. The paper discussed how surface texture designs are inspired by animals in nature such as sharks and cheetahs, and discussed how the types of surface coatings affect the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle as well.

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