Aerodynamic engineering in the domain of cars and trucks is usually aimed at reducing fuel consumption and the emission of harmful substances. This can be achieved by optimizing the drag factor of vehicles. In addition to the increasing importance of aerodynamic aspects in engineering, aeroacoustic aspects of cars and trucks are playing an important role in the development process. Optimization of aeroacoustics will improve comfort in vehicles and reduce noise pollution.

DNW’s clients include a large number of famous manufacturers of cars and trucks, in particular manufacturers that do not have their own wind tunnels or only small tunnels.

The aerodynamic tests for cars and trucks are performed in DNW’s low-speed wind tunnels. The tunnels can be segmented into a variety of cross sections suitable for scaled models as well as full-scale models. Dynamic tests with lightweight models are performed using the MPM (Model Positioning Mechanism). Acoustic tests can be performed in closed test sections equipped with wall arrays.

Forces and moments are measured by means of external and internal balances. Moreover, different pressure measurement techniques are available to measure the flow behavior in or around the model. A special feature of DNW’s facilities is its non-intrusive flow-field measurement technique PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry). PIV is used to measure features such as vortices, shock waves and other flow phenomena. DNW also applies the 3D optical measurement system SPR (Stereo Pattern Recognition) to measure the displacement of marker points on a surface. In addition, DNW uses various simulation techniques to control the boundary layer, for example a moving belt.