View Single Post
Old 01-16-2023, 11:09 AM   #12 (permalink)
aerohead
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 15,861
Thanks: 23,922
Thanked 7,207 Times in 4,640 Posts
turbulence in the bucket

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cd View Post
I remember reading in a magazine decades ago, when a "GM Engineer " explained that the cD was nearly identical for both the 3rd generation Camaro and Firebird, despite the Camaro having bucket headlights.
( CarCraft magazine )
He explained that the air pooled and created a swirling pocket of air that oncoming air skipped around.
So the drag that was being created by the turbulence in the headlight buckets was "cancelled out" by the airflow skipping over the turbulent air.
Even back then as a teen, that didn't make sense to me.
Any oncoming air would BECOME turbulent air as it met the "swirling pocket of air "and it would create drag.
Also, all air flowing over a turbulent body eventually becomes stagnant again farther downstream anyway.
I'm guessing the amount of drag created is a result of how quickly the airflow goes back to it's stagnant state.
It doesn't cancel out the drag that was created.

But I sure would like to be wrong.

Anybody have any comments ?
As the GM engineer rightly commented, it's not 'turbulence' in the bucket, it's just 'pooled' air. Dead air.
Oncoming flow cannot displace it, and it cannot compress it. It experiences it as if it were a solid structure, and just skips over the bubble formed out in front of it.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-a...ing-follow.jpg
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	member-aerohead-albums-other+vehicles+1-picture140-vw-golf-smoke-shows-path-air-willing-follow.jpg
Views:	6
Size:	37.4 KB
ID:	33204  
__________________
Photobucket album: http://s1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj622/aerohead2/
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to aerohead For This Useful Post:
Cd (01-16-2023)