Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
Lower right corner — Vortex traps. Just applied to the fender well. |
Seems to me, such vortex traps could be easily and inexpensively made with Coroplast, cut with a compass device to match the round curvature of the tire, then mounted to the inner fender liner.
This application appears to have some conceptual semblance to a ducted fan, where the duct necessarily has a very small gap between the spinning propeller blade tips, to prevent spillage of air from the positive pressure behind the blade, i.e., to act as a flow fence to prevent vortices and associated loss of efficiency. In other words, the spinning tire acts as a crude turbine, and the vortex trap flow fences act to contain the vortices, rather than have them escape outboard only to bugger the airflow past the wheel well opening.
I wonder how such vortex traps would compare with air curtains' efficiency?