Simulation of Wall Pressure Fluctuations on Simplified Automobile Shapes Using a Lattice Based Method
A comparison of experimental data and CFD simulation results of wall pressure fluctuations on simplified geometries that generate flow structures similar to an automobile are presented. The numerical results have been obtained using the commercial software PowerFLOW 3.4p4a. The simulation kernel of this software is based on the numerical scheme known as the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), combined with an RNG turbulence model. This scheme accurately captures time-dependent aerodynamic behavior of high Reynolds number flows over complex geometries, together with the acoustics. The geometries considered for this study represent the green house and the side mirror of a car. Spectral analysis is performed on the simulation data and the results are compared to the experimental data. This comparison provides good correlation between the simulation and experiment, and demonstrates the capability of this numerical scheme in predicting turbulent fluctuations due to complex flow phenomena.