In this second video on the Porsche Taycan Aerodynamics, we’ll take the car to the street to compare tuft movement to simulation data.

Special thanks to the Porsche Centre in Mechelen, Belgium, for letting us play with this fantastic car  https://www.porsche.com/belgium-mechelen

In our last video, we had equipped the Porsche Taycan with a number of tuft

Rear window & spoiler

On the rear window and spoiler, none of the tufts move. This is because the flow in that area stays nicely attached & laminar. There is some slow-down of the flow due to the “negative” curvature of the window, but this doesn’t lead to separation.

Rear wheels

The rear wheels create a turbulent zone which extends downwind (causing a lot of movement of the tufts on the rear bumper) and also upward (creating movement above the wheel arch as well). The latter extends all the way to the rear spoiler.

A-pillar and side window

As the air makes its way from the front wind shield to the side window, it curves around the A-pillar. In doing so, a vortex is created which locally pushes the air upward, just behind the A-pillar. This upward motion extends further downwind at the top of the side window as well.

Front wheels

The front wheels also create a turbulent zone which splashes out upward. Further downstream, this zone is countered by the air coming off the front hood, which creates a zone of attached air curving downward on the flanks.

Headlamps

The headlamps are located in a “pocket” in the bodywork. As the air jumps out of this pocket, it locally separates from the bodywork and leaves behind a local bubble of separated, turbulent flow. This can be seen in both simulation & tuft movement.

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