Active Rear Diffusor Gap Adjustment for Drag and Downforce
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing active rear diffusors in road vehicles do not adequately address the need for improved aerodynamic characteristics and operational flexibility to enhance traction and reduce drag based on vehicle speed and conditions.
Innovation Solution
An active rear diffusor with a first and second air guiding member arranged sequentially along the vehicle's longitudinal axis, where an actuating assembly moves them into different positions to adjust the gap width and orientation, allowing for enhanced aerodynamic control by reducing drag at low speeds and increasing downforce at high speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single air guiding member is used in the rear diffusor, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability to different aerodynamic conditions is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The rear diffusor is divided into multiple air guiding members (first air guiding member and second air guiding member) arranged sequentially along the longitudinal axis. Each member can be independently positioned to create different gap configurations, enabling the system to adapt to various aerodynamic conditions while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular design.
2Force
If the gap width between air guiding members is increased for high-speed operation, then downforce is enhanced, but drag increases at low speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The air guiding members are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing the gap width between them to be dynamically adjusted based on vehicle speed and aerodynamic requirements. The actuating assembly enables real-time reconfiguration of the diffusor geometry to optimize the balance between downforce generation and drag reduction across different operating conditions.
3Ease of operation
If multiple air guiding members are added to enhance aerodynamic control, then operational flexibility is improved, but the actuating mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating assembly integrates the control mechanisms for multiple air guiding members into a unified system. This merging approach allows coordinated movement of all air guiding members through a single control architecture, reducing the overall complexity that would otherwise result from having separate actuation systems for each member while maintaining full aerodynamic control flexibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides increased operational flexibility and efficiency by adjusting aerodynamic characteristics to vehicle speed, reducing drag at low speeds and enhancing traction through controlled gap widths and orientations of the air guiding members.
Implementation Method 1
Rear diffusors are established in road vehicles and e.g. help to generate downforces for enhancing traction
Implementation Method 2
help to further improve the aerodynamic characteristics of road vehicles
Data Source
AI summary
The application concerns an active rear diffusor for a road vehicle. The rear diffusor includes a first air guiding member and at least a second air guiding member, and an actuating assembly, where at least a section of the first air guiding member and of the second air guiding member are arranged successively along a longitudinal axis of the road vehicle, where the actuating assembly is configured to move each of the first and second air guiding member into a first position in which the rear diffusor assumes a first operating state and into a second position in which the rear diffusor assumes a second operating state, and where a width of a first gap between the first and second air guiding member is smaller in in the first operating state compared to the second operating state.