07 / Physical / CFD / wind tunnel

Testing a car’s shape against the airflow.

A concept vehicle refined through CAD, CFD and wind-tunnel testing.

PROJECTConcept Car Aerodynamics

INDEPENDENT WORKCAD, simulation and validation

CONTEXTIndependent design · some shared course experiments
Engineering study

Orange concept car with CFD airflow traces — FIG. 01CFD visualisation of the refined concept-car geometry.

01 / OVERVIEW

The project in a minute.

THE OUTCOME

Refined the body, canopy, underbody and rear through CFD; the detailed report’s final Cd is 0.169, approximately 35% below the 0.26 initial concept.

What supports this? ↓

The challenge: Shape a distinctive concept car while reducing drag and preventing the form from producing unwanted lift.
Independent work: CAD, simulation and validation. The detailed CFD report records Cd 0.169 versus an initial 0.26 at a 40 m/s inlet. Wind-tunnel work examined model and interpretation errors in a shared course experiment.
Read this in context: Concept geometry in CFD, with shared course wind-tunnel experiments. Use the detailed report’s 0.169 final Cd; do not compare it directly with road-car marketing figures.

01Shape the whole airflow 02Compare CFD iterations 03Challenge in a wind tunnel

02 / THINKING

The choices behind the result.

Open a chapter to follow the work and the choices made along the way.

01 / DESIGN

Integrate the airflow

The roof, underbody and rear taper were refined as one continuous airflow system.

Inspect the supporting evidence ↓

02 / ENGINEERING

Cross-check the model

A physical wind-tunnel test challenged the CFD result and exposed model limitations.

Inspect the supporting evidence ↓

METHODS USEDCADCFDWind tunnel

03 / EVIDENCE

Results, and what they mean.

Concept geometry in CFD, with shared course wind-tunnel experiments. Use the detailed report’s 0.169 final Cd; do not compare it directly with road-car marketing figures.

SIMULATION / BASELINE NORMALISED TO 100

Approximately 35% less drag than the early concept.

Baseline index100

Refined design index≈65

0.169

Final reported CFD Cd

At the documented 40 m/s inlet; the summary portfolio rounds the value to 0.16.

≈35%

Within-study Cd reduction

Computed from 0.26 to 0.169. Not an on-road measurement or a like-for-like production-car benchmark.

CFD + tunnel

Two complementary investigations

Individual design work with shared course validation; the tunnel model is not proof of full-scale vehicle performance.

Source notes & scope 3

CFD DesignDesign iteration, CFD setup and results sections
Final Cd 0.169, initial 0.26, inlet 40 m/s.
Portfolio — Qiuguang Wupp. 6–8
Rounded summary and shared experiment context.
Author clarificationProject ownership
Displayed design is independently completed; some course experiments were shared.