Active Air Skirt Flap Control for High-Speed Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air skirts on vehicles are limited in design flexibility and durability, failing to adapt to varying travel conditions and potentially getting damaged by road contact.
Innovation Solution
An active air skirt apparatus with a housing, guide part, flap, driver, and interconnected links that adjust airflow based on vehicle travel state, ensuring stable operation and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed air skirt is installed on the lower portion of the vehicle, then the aerodynamic performance is improved, but the air skirt cannot adapt to varying travel conditions and may be damaged by road contact
Solution Approach 1:
The air skirt is transformed from a fixed structure to a movable one by introducing a flap that can rotate between different positions. The flap is connected through a rotation axis and controlled by a driver mechanism, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position based on travel conditions such as vehicle speed and road surface state, thereby preventing damage while maintaining aerodynamic effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positional parameter of the air skirt flap to adapt to different operating conditions. By controlling the rotation angle of the flap through the driver mechanism, the air skirt can change its configuration from a low position (for aerodynamic performance at high speed) to a high position (for avoiding road contact and debris), thus adapting to varying travel conditions.
2Reliability
If the air skirt is designed to be movable to avoid road contact, then the durability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The air skirt is divided into a fixed housing portion and a movable flap portion that can rotate independently. This segmentation allows the flap to be controlled separately to avoid road contact while the housing remains fixed, reducing the complexity of the overall mechanism by only making the necessary portion movable.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver mechanism serves multiple functions: it controls the rotation of the flap to avoid road contact, maintains aerodynamic performance at high speeds, and can be integrated with existing vehicle control systems. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Reliability
If a rear spoiler is installed to improve high-speed stability, then the traveling stability is improved, but the design flexibility is limited and the vehicle appearance is disturbed
Solution Approach 1:
Unlike a fixed rear spoiler, the air skirt flap can dynamically adjust its position based on travel conditions. This dynamic capability provides design flexibility while maintaining high-speed stability, as the flap can be optimized for aerodynamic performance when needed and repositioned when not required, avoiding the permanent design constraints of a fixed spoiler.
Data Source
AI summary
An active air skirt apparatus controls an airflow flowing to a lower side of a mobility device according to a traveling state of the mobility device, thereby securing optimal aerodynamic performance. In addition, disclosed herein is an active air skirt apparatus, which stably moves a flap for controlling the airflow when a vehicle travels at high speed, thereby improving durability and reliability.