Quote:
Originally Posted by kach22i
This article?
Nov 15, 2021
How the Lucid Air’s Aerodynamic Tricks Gain It Access to the .200 Club
Lucid leverages tricks used in Formula 1 racing and Dyson vacuums to hit a remarkable drag coefficient
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022...n-aero-tricks/
From 2020 some wind tunnel images:
https://www.greencarreports.com/news...ent-luxury-car
What gets me about all of the "aero-trickery" and gimmicks is that they cannot be seen with old fashion wind tunnel and smoke. Their function can only be explained with CFD imagery and automotive prose. I'm sure they usually work as advertised, but it does take some faith in what cannot be seen. |
This must be the article they referenced. Thanks!
* the erratic smoke streams suggest sub-critical Reynolds number, which if the case, what we see is not how it would actually be with the turbulent boundary layer.
* the explanation for the vortex-induced duct flow sounds just like NASA's explanation for the submerged NACA inlet.
* the 'square-to-round-to square', with fully attached interior duct flow would not seem remarkable in lieu of ASHRAE duct construction standard practice.
* headlight cooling, then extraction atop the hood is reminiscent of the Morelli/Pininfarina CNR 'banana' car cooling system of 1976, something I borrowed for SPIRIT.
* Stagnation pressure is always a good thing, and why Lucid didn't have to stoop to powered-cooling fan operation like Porsche had to do.
* Cd 0.200 is good, but the Tesla Model S plaid, with aero wheels might come in below that ( The 1987 GM Impact was Cd 0.19. The 1996 GM EV1 was Cd 0.197, and 1993 EV1, LSR car was Cd 0.137 ).
* By New Years, we'll be celebrating the 1st- Centennial of Paul Jaray's Cd 0.13 form.
* I think the 'aero trickery' would sound different coming straight from the mouth of the aerodynamic engineer. And the pretty, artificial colorization of CFD probably has a higher visual psychological impact on the viewer than low contrast smoke imaging. Just an opinion.
* And the aero trickery doesn't impact the 'appearance' ( design / styling ) of the form, and as Wolf Hucho informed us, would not jeopardize sales ( to the un-initiated ).
* I'm glad to see the gentlemanly aero competition among auto makers, and recognition by the press, that aerodynamics is a 'performance' feature of the design, not just some effete, fashion aesthetic, passing fad.