Abstract
The effect of wheel geometry on the total aerodynamic drag of a road vehicle was investigated. The relationship between the aerodynamic drag of a full vehicle and a single wheel detached from the vehicle was first investigated in wind-tunnel measurements, and positive correlation between them was obtained. Then the mechanisms of generating the aerodynamic drag were investigated and their similarities were confirmed through large-eddy simulation. These results suggest the possibility of estimating the effect of wheel shape upon the drag coefficient of a full vehicle through isolated wheel aerodynamics.
