Journal Article
Optimizing the External Shape of Vehicles at the Concept Stage: Integration of Aerodynamics and Ergonomics
2011-06-09
2011-37-0014
The automotive field is facing increasing pressure towards the reduction of design times and costs and towards the improvement of car performance, especially with respect to fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. Aerodynamics is one of the fields where this performance improvement can be achieved, but any improvement in this area must not affect negatively other performances, like cooling or ergonomics and space for occupants. This paper presents current methods in CRF (Centro Ricerche FIAT) and FGA (Fiat Group Automobiles) for multi-objective optimization of the external shape of new models, with respect to aerodynamic and ergonomic performances, and how the conflicting requirements coming from the different disciplines can be managed in a systematic way.
