The reduction of aerodynamic drag of terrestrial vehicles is the focus of current and future industrial research, given the importance of energy consumption and harmful gasses emissions. As much as 50% of drag originates from the rear vehicle’s shape, i.e., the low-pressure turbulent wake forming at the base of the vehicle. While the front can be streamlined, the rear of the vehicle is very often limited by logistic and functional requirements to an aerodynamically unfavorable shape. Facing such constraints, active flow control emerges as a solution with an enormous potential for alleviating the drag penalties without significantly changing the vehicle’s base shape. This project proposes to develop and test novel actuation methods for open- and closed-loop control of the wake, in pursuit of a demonstrable drag reduction of the generic vehicle model.
