Vehicle Rear Bottom Cover Airflow Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle rear structures fail to efficiently manage airflow within the rear wheel well, leading to increased aerodynamic drag due to turbulent flows, as air entering from the outside is not effectively discharged, causing pressure imbalances and generating additional turbulent flows.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle rear structure featuring a bottom cover with an air inlet and outlet, guided by slant walls to direct airflow outward and downward, preventing turbulent flow generation and enhancing airflow management within the rear wheel well.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If openings are provided in front and rear sides of the rear bumper to discharge turbulent flow from the upper region of the rear wheel well, then the aerodynamic drag is reduced, but the pressure inside the rear wheel well is reduced causing increased air inflow from the outside and generation of turbulent flow in the lower region
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the airflow management into two separate systems: one for the upper region (through front and rear openings in the bumper) and one for the lower region (through the bottom cover). This segmentation allows each system to handle airflow independently, preventing the pressure imbalance that causes harmful turbulent flow in the lower region while maintaining the drag reduction benefit from the upper region discharge.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom cover acts as an intermediary component that introduces controlled airflow into the lower region of the rear wheel well. This intermediary airflow system prevents the direct pressure imbalance between the interior and exterior that would otherwise cause harmful turbulent flow, while working in conjunction with the upper region discharge system.
2Quantity of substance
If air flows into the lower rear region of the rear wheel well from the outside toward the inside, then the rear wheel well receives supplemental air, but the air is not efficiently discharged causing it to turn into turbulent flow and increase aerodynamic drag
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the airflow management function for the lower region by providing a dedicated bottom cover with air inlet and air outlet. This separate extraction of the lower region airflow path allows efficient discharge of air that enters from the outside, preventing it from becoming turbulent and increasing drag.
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
This configuration effectively reduces aerodynamic drag by regulating airflow, improving crosswind stability and steering stability by ensuring smooth airflow discharge, thereby reducing the shearing force on the rear bumper and preventing vertical vortex formation.
Implementation Method 1
regulating the air flowing inside a rear wheel well, thereby reducing the aerodynamic drag of a vehicle in motion
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle rear structure includes a bottom cover disposed rearward of a rear wheel well in a vehicle front-rear direction. The bottom cover includes an air inlet into which air that has flowed from a front side toward a rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction is taken such that the air flows outward in a vehicle-width direction. The bottom cover further includes an air outlet provided at a position outward of the air inlet in the vehicle-width direction. The air outlet is an air outlet from which the air flows from the air inlet outward in the vehicle-width direction is discharged outward in the vehicle-width direction and downward in a vehicle-height direction.