Automobile et environnement : contribution de la recherche aérodynamique à la réduction des gaz à effet de serre

Abstract

This paper deals with the aerodynamic separation control to reduce consumption and the greenhouse gas emission for the future road vehicles. After reviewing the passive control methods, examples of active flow control by using suction, blowing and synthetic jets are successively presented. Drag reductions of about 20% are hence already possible without any negative geometrical modification in term of habitability and comfort. Drag reduction coefficients of the future road vehicles doing outside city connections could soon tend to a value near 0.24. The result must allow to reduce the fuel consumption of a vehicle of the range M1 (vehicle of the lower average range) of approximately 1.6 liters by 100 km at the speed of 130 km.h. The CO emission reduction will be at least about 7 gr.km following NEDC (New European Driving Cycle). © 2009 AFM EDP Sciences.