Movable Front Air Guide With Elastic Aerofoil Downforce Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air-guiding devices for passenger cars do not achieve a high enough aerodynamic efficiency while maintaining suitability for everyday use, particularly in terms of ground clearance and ride height.
Innovation Solution
An air-guiding device with an elastically deformable element that can move between raised and lowered positions, forming an inverted aerofoil to generate downforce, and a splitter to split airflow, utilizing an elastically deformable material that deforms with increasing speed to enhance downforce without active actuators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the air-guiding element is lowered to generate downforce, then aerodynamic efficiency is improved, but ground clearance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The air-guiding element is designed to be movable between raised and lowered positions, allowing the system to dynamically adapt its aerodynamic properties. This enables the vehicle to optimize downforce generation during high-speed driving while maintaining adequate ground clearance during low-speed or off-road operation, thus resolving the contradiction between aerodynamic efficiency and ground clearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the vertical position parameter of the air-guiding element to achieve different operational states. By adjusting this parameter, the system can switch between generating high downforce (lowered position) and maintaining ground clearance (raised position), thereby resolving the contradiction between these two opposing requirements.
2Manufacturing precision
If active actuators are used to move the air-guiding element, then positioning precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The air-guiding element utilizes aerodynamic forces generated during vehicle operation to automatically move between raised and lowered positions. The airflow itself serves as the actuating mechanism, eliminating the need for separate active actuators. This self-service approach achieves functional positioning without adding device complexity, thereby resolving the contradiction between positioning precision and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces traditional mechanical actuator systems with aerodynamic forces. Instead of using motors, hydraulics, or pneumatics to move the air-guiding element, the system leverages the vehicle's own airflow to provide the necessary actuation forces, thus reducing mechanical complexity while maintaining positioning functionality.
3Force
If the air-guiding element is lowered for racing, then downforce is increased, but everyday usability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The movable air-guiding element enables the vehicle to dynamically adapt its aerodynamic configuration to match driving conditions. During racing, the element is lowered to maximize downforce and track performance. During everyday driving, the element is raised to maintain normal ground clearance and usability. This dynamic adaptability resolves the contradiction between downforce generation and everyday usability.
Solution Approach 2:
The air-guiding system is designed to serve multiple functions: generating downforce during high-performance driving while maintaining ground clearance during normal operation. This multi-functionality allows the same system to optimize both racing performance and everyday usability, resolving the contradiction between these two opposing requirements.
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 device achieves a significant increase in downforce with reduced aerodynamic drag, improving lap times on racetracks and maintaining everyday usability by adjusting ground clearance and ride height.
Implementation Method 1
the section is formed from an elastically deformable material and is increasingly elastically deformable with increasing speed of the flow around it
Implementation Method 2
the air-guiding element forms at least one section of an aerofoil in the lowered position by means of which a downforce acting in the vertical direction of the vehicle downwards can be created when there is a flow of air around the aerofoil in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from front to back
Implementation Method 3
the air-guiding device has a splitter, which splits the airflow flowing onto the vehicle and directs a partial airflow downwards in the direction of a road
Data Source
AI summary
An air-guiding device of a front of a passenger car includes an air-guiding element which is movable at least in a subsection, at least in a vertical direction of the passenger car, between a raised position and a lowered position. A splitter and the air-guiding element are connected by a section which is formed from an elastically deformable material and is increasingly elastically deformable with increasing speed of a flow of air around the section. The air-guiding element forms a section of an aerofoil in the lowered position via which a downforce acting in the vertical direction of the passenger car downwards is created when there is a flow of air around the aerofoil in a longitudinal direction of the passenger car from a front to a back of the passenger car.