Abstract
Influence of upper-rear body configuration on aerodynamic characteristics of a passenger vehicle has been experimentally studied. By rounding the upper-rear body, the recirculating region of the wake behind the passenger vehicle was narrowed, while the streamwise vortices at both sides were expanded. The drag force and lift force were therefore increased. The experimental results show that the rear configuration can modify the wake structure behind the passenger vehicle. As the aerodynamic force is related strongly with the wake structure, it is said that the total aerodynamic characteristics might be controlled by modifying the rear configuration of the passenger vehicle.
