[ad_1]
Air, sorry to report, is stealing your money. While we walk through it with ease, it’s an unfortunate reality that traveling through the air at highway speeds creates a tremendous amount of drag, slowing you down and using up your gas.
Chris Anthony, the CEO of Aptera, the makers of a highly aerodynamic EV, suggests that about 60 percent of the energy a typical car expends at highway speeds is used to push air out of the way. Of course, then the desire will arise to use aerodynamic principles to lower that number.
Buoyed by record fuel prices in the state of California, Think Flight, an aviation-focused YouTube channel, decided to use its knowledge of airfoils to lower the drag coefficient of a land vehicle. And they decided to do it without spending a lot of money.
Also Read: This Aerodynamic Electric Motorcycle Must Go More Than 250mph
The video’s host reasoned that his Subaru Impreza hatchback was designed more for practicality than aero efficiency, and decided to use 1.5-inch insulating foam to increase the surface area of his car. Using the foam, he formed a cone coming out of the back of the car that he thought would cut through the air more smoothly and tear into it with fewer vortices.
And the results are quite impressive. Using only duct tape, gorilla glue, foam, Goop and cardboard, he builds a surprisingly strong extension for his car.
He then tests how much money he saves on a highway trip. While he seems a little disappointed by the results, I think a 13 percent gain on his first try is pretty impressive. He does explain how the car can be improved.
While air moves very smoothly over the top of the car, it gets more turbulent the further down you go, and gets very unpredictable below. He thinks using a front splitter and side skirts, as well as a new shape that tries to prevent air from making contact with the undercarriage, could easily double his efficiency gains at highway speeds.
The video is not only a fun look at how to save some money on gas, but also provides simple and easy-to-understand insights into the process of analyzing aerodynamics.
[ad_2]
Source link