The Aerodynamic Effect of Replacing Side Mirrors with Digital Cameras

Sammanfattning

We are constantly seeking new technical and modern solutions to everyday problems, and technology is being integrated into our society at an unprecedented rate. Naturally, the automotive industry is no exception. The pursuit of optimizing energy efficiency is a challenge every car manufacturer faces. In this thesis work, the optimization of car side mirrors is being studied by replacing them with digital cameras for better aerodynamic properties. A custom aerodynamic design of the digital camera was proposed and modeled in this thesis work. The calculations were conducted using a numerical simulation tool called Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) by computing their respective drag coefficients and forces across velocities ranging from 80 km/h to 120 km/h. To visually understand how the fluid interacts with the geometry, a velocity and pressure contour was generated. The results revealed a 33% decrease in drag coefficient for the digital camera, corresponding to a 90% decrease in drag force for each component. When looking at the entire car, replacing both side mirrors with digital cameras leads to a nearly 4% decrease in total drag force. Whether this decrease is significant enough to cause a transition remains a question for each manufacturer to consider.