Automotive Aerodynamics

Automotive aerodynamics is the study of the aerodynamics of road vehicles. Its main goals are reducing drag and wind noise, minimizing noise emission, and preventing undesired lift forces and other causes of aerodynamic instability at high speeds. Air is also considered a fluid in this case. For some classes of racing vehicles, it may also be important to produce downforce to improve traction and thus cornering abilities.

CO2 Rail Car

Body Construction

This is the base of the tutorial car.

This is the final product for the body of the car.

Front Rim LX

This is the sketch of the front rim.

This is the final product of the front rim.

Front Tire

This is the sketch of the front tire.

This is the final product of the front tire.

Wheel Assembly

This is the final product combining the front rim and front tire into an assembly.

Rear Rim PX

This is the sketch of the rear rim.

This is the final product of the rear rim.

Rear Tire

This is the sketch of the rear tire.

This is the final product of the rear tire.

Rear Rim Spokes

This is the sketch of the ream rim spokes.

This is the final product of the rear rim spokes.

Front Rim Spokes

This is the sketch of the front rim spokes.

This is the final product of the front rim spokes.

Front Axle

This is the sketch of the front axle.

This is the final product of the front axle.

Rear Axle

This is the sketch of the rear axle.

This is the final product of the rear axle.

Washer

This is the sketch of the washer.

This is the final product of the washer.

CO2 Rail Car Assembly

This is the final product of the rail car assembly in the trimetric view.

This is the final product of the rail car assembly in the right view.

Drawing

This is the final product of the drawing of the rail car.

Decals

This is the final product of the decal.

Cartridge

This is the sketch of the cartridge.

This is the final product of the CO2 cartridge.

Camera & Render

This is the final product of the camera & render of the rail car.

Flow Sim: Thick vs. Thin Tires

Thick Tires

Thin Tires

This is the flow sim of the thick tires.

This is the flow sim of the thin tires.

This is the surface plot for the thick tires.

This is the surface plot for the thin tires.

This is the data table for the thick tires.

This is the data table for the thin tires.

This is the graph data for thick tires

This is the graph data for thin tires

CO2 Thumbnail Drawings & Research

Some parts of the bullet car that will help with aerodynamics include a pointy nose, curved ogive, and a tapered boat tail.

(where is says caliber the curved part is also the tapered boat tail.) {link for image is unavailable}

I decided to go with the bullet design due to its simplistic aerodynamics (first design)

Original Design

Sketch of the revolved boss/base.

This is the extrude cut of the cartridge hole.

This is an extruded cut for the tires.

This is an extruded boss/base of a spacer to make sure the wheels will not touch.

This is an extruded cut of the axle holes.

This is an extruded cut for the string that will keep the car on the ground.

This is an extruded cut to make it easier to get the string all the way through the car.

This is a view of the bottom of the car to show the details on the tires, axles, etc.

This is a view of the car from the right side.

Modified Design & Drawing

This is a sketch of the revolved boss/base of the modified car.

This is the extrude cut of the cartidge hole.

This is an extrude cut of the hole for the tires.

This is an extruded boss/base of a spacer to make sure the wheels will not touch.

This is an extruded cut of the axle holes.

This is an extruded cut for the string that will keep the car on the ground.

This is an extruded cut to make it easier to get the string all the way through the car.

This is a view of the bottom of the car to show the details on the tires, axles, etc.

This is a view of the car from the left side.

This is an orthographic projection of my personal car (modified design).

What was changed?

To modify the original car I added a sharper (pointy) tip. I also modified the curve at the bottom/back of the bullet (where cartridge hole is).

Slicing & Printing

This is an image of the test print in the Prusa Slicer. It used a 5% infill as well as supports on the build plate only to help with the over hang. The small circle on the right is to test the cartridge hole. While the larger object on the left is testing the wheel and axle holes.