Project / Off-highway

Aerodynamic development of an external intake duct

Geometry variants were compared in terms of airflow, resistance and wake stability.

CFD velocity field around an optimized intake geometry — Off-highway · CFD simulation

Industry: Off-highway
Services: CFD simulation

Engineering question

The intake geometry needed to improve airflow while reducing drag and lateral-force fluctuations on the vehicle.

Model & approach

Compare geometry variants under a common model setup
Evaluate flow pattern, drag coefficient and wake structure
Use lateral-force fluctuations as an additional selection criterion

Boundary conditions

Common vehicle and flow domain for every variant
Geometry changes limited to the intake region

Results of the assessment

The variants produced clearly different wake structures.
A more open intake contour provided the preferred balance of resistance and wake behaviour in the variant comparison.
That design direction was selected for subsequent detail work.

Engineering consequence

The lower-loss opening and contour direction formed the basis for detailed intake development.

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