Numerical investigations of the flow around rotating wheels with the purpose of tracing tyre dust
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Examensarbete för masterexamen
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As we move into an era of electrification of vehicles, there is a constant need to suppress
the environmental impact caused by these vehicles. Electric vehicles have drastically lowered exhaust gas emissions but on the flip-side, it has significantly increased non-exhaust
emissions. With more than 1 billion passenger vehicles roaming the streets today, it is
evident that non-exhaust emissions will only rise in the upcoming years as more BEVs
are churned out by manufacturers.
Non-exhaust emissions majorly constitutes of tyre wear and brake wear. Several experiments have shown the particulate matter that is abraded off the tyres is charged and hence
can be trapped using static electricity. In this work, the complex flow around rotating
wheels and inside the wheelhouse is investigated. The work also extends into investigating the effectiveness of a device obtained from The Tyre Collective, which captures these
particulate emissions. Using numerical simulations, a generic model of the AeroSUV is
studied along with TTC’s device. It was determined that the device placement is not
ideal and, having an externally mounted device is prone to vibrations and contamination
due to soiling.
The change in overall drag and rear wake profile is shown with the help of a comparison
study of the vehicle with and without the device. The shape of the device has been shown
to restrict flow behind the rear wheels to some extent. Additionally, flow recirculation at
the inlet of the device is shown using streamline tracers. The study also shows that the
majority of the mass flow of air through the device comes from the front, through the un derbody. Furthermore, based on the numerical analysis several design recommendations
were provided.
Lastly, this investigative study has shown that simulating particles using multiphase will
be worthwhile in providing more information and, a numerical method for both wheel
rotation modelling and particle tracing. Furthermore, upcoming Euro 7 emission norms
are speculated to have stringent regulations on tyre and brake wear. Hence, capturing
these particulate emissions at the source would be highly beneficial and to do so, a more
sophisticated numerical analysis of particle behaviour is necessary to decipher the optimal
methods to capture them.
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Vehicle aerodynamics, CFD, AeroSUV, wheel rotation, tyres, tyre dust, zero emissions, non-exhaust emissions