|
Freebeard,
Apologies, I know in my previous design iteration I had dismissed the idea as too complicated. I am now considering a duct at the rear as a potentially good place to relocate some auxiliary cooling to (e.g. oil cooler). The 2019 Clarity fuel cell/electric/plug in hybrid production model appears to have a much smaller version of the duct shown on the prototype. I am assuming they need it for battery/auxiliary system cooling.
If I were to follow the path of the Golf W12 I would leave the existing major bodywork and structure, tilt the rear side windows in at the back at a certain angle to create the duct, do a similar cut on the roof between existing bodywork to create the duct, fill in internally the outer sides of the duct to create a smooth duct walls, replace or modify the rear doors to provide a place for the air to exit. I believe this is what you are suggesting, correct? Basically, it is an internal boat tail of sorts with the original body lines hanging out in the airflow.
If I were to follow the path of the clarity I would still do a major chop/boat tail to the vehicle, collect air prior to this chop, release the air at the rear of the vehicle in the wake.
Obviously if I put a radiator into the duct to supply auxiliary cooling it will drastically change the function and airflow. Probably wouldn’t work so well integrated with a primary drag reduction (e.g. Golf) as opposed to supplement (e.g. Clarity). I will have to ponder on this.
|