Fundamental study of aerodynamic drag reduction for vehicle with feedback flow control

The present paper deals with a fundamental study of aerodynamic drag reduction for a vehicle with a feedback flow control. As the first step, two-dimensional calculation was performed for a flow around a simplified vehicle model. The mechanism of unsteady drag was investigated in relation to the vortex shedding from the model. The location of the control flow nozzle was so determined that the control flow influences the drag most effectively. The key in designing the present feedback control is the definition of the output signal. Based on the physical consideration of the drag generation, the location of the output velocity measurement was changed within a limited region near the front windshield. A systematic calculation revealed that the output signal defined in a small region results in a significant drag reduction of 20% with respect to the case without control. The present feedback flow control is generally applicable to the drag reduction of the bluff body for which the drag is generated under the same mechanism of essentially two-dimensional vortex shedding.