Numerical Investigation of Flow past an Uberhood at Low Velocity

Uberhood is an aerodynamically designed structure offering protection for the rider from sun and rain. In this paper, a preliminary attempt is made to design an uberhood for motorbikes followed by fluid flow analysis using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).In this study, the k-ω turbulence model was employed to simulate a three dimensional flow past an uberhood. Comparison between flow past motorbike with rider and motorbike with uberhood along with rider are presented at two different angles of attack. The results in terms of the aerodynamic force coefficients namely the lift and drag coefficients, pressure contour, velocity contour, streamlines and turbulence kinetic energy obtained using the above turbulence model have been presented and discussed. Based on the height and velocity of motorbike with rider and motorbike with uberhood along with rider the Reynolds number was taken as 1.9 million and 2.2 million respectively. It was observed that with the increase in angle of attack the coefficient of drag decreases. Results show that a lower coefficient of drag value for the designed uberhood. This paves way for the use of uberhood in a motorbike which provides safety for the riders together with experiencing lower drag force.