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Aerodynamics on Rhino car

Question asked by W. Dv on Jan 8, 2013
Latest reply on Jan 10, 2013 by Chris Michalski

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Dear,

I've got to make a work in which I design a car and test it in my own built windtunnel. But I do also want to test the car in the ''solidworks'' windtunnel as I want to compare drag coëfficients. So I designed the outer layers of a car in Rhino and saved it as a .STL file. When I open it in Solidworks I get to see ''there has to be at least one component for a simulation flow analysis''. I actually designed the car in T-splines for Rhino, but I converted the model to a Rhino model so it's just a rhino model right now.

I uploaded the car so you can open it in Solidworks so know what I am talking about

Thank you very much!

Chris Michalski Jan 8, 2013 8:17 PM

Correct Answer

it is because you only have a surface body, not a solid body. You need to add thickness and convert it into a solid body, otherwise Solidworks Flow Simulation won't recognize it. Flow does not support surfaces.

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car 2nd try.stl.zip7.0 MB

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Lenny Bucholz Jan 8, 2013 9:46 AM

Solidworks opens native Rhino files, unless it's the student version then you cannot, educational will open them also.

if you are a student you can get the T-splines for SW free, then you can do any mods to the model in SW instead of going back and fourth between the 2.

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Chris Michalski Jan 8, 2013 10:03 AM

SWFlow requires solids to calculate, so if your Rhino model is all surfaces, you will first need to make it a solid body in order to run a flow simulation.

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W. Dv Jan 8, 2013 5:46 PM

Thanks guys, but it still doesnt work, take a look at this picture please: https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/740841_4816675307847_1185976024_o.jpg

That is what i get to see every time. how to fix that?

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Chris Michalski @ W. Dv on Jan 8, 2013 8:17 PM

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W. Dv Jan 9, 2013 2:14 PM

Thank you! it worked for me, look what i've got now!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/737214_4821593030787_1143172671_o.jpg

There's only one problem, the model is way too big and i tried to resize it but i cant. I tried to do it with features -> measure and then adjust the things it says. Neither can i use smart dimension to measure or resize my model, do you know how i can resize it?

And I need to know the drag coefficiënt on the body (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient), but its not in the solidworks help and i couldnt find it on our forums Do you know how to make solidworks calculate the drag coefficient?

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Chris Michalski @ W. Dv on Jan 9, 2013 2:45 PM

Once it is a solid you should be able to use the Scale function to shrink the entire model by a unifom factor.

As for a drag coefficient I would have to do some looking and both of my simulation computers are in the middle of solving studies right now.

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W. Dv Jan 10, 2013 11:41 AM

Thank you Chris! I´ll open a new topic asking about the drag coefficient as i´ve spent many hours looking on the internet without any results

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Chris Michalski @ W. Dv on Jan 10, 2013 11:51 AM

You'll likely have to calculate it. If you run a mechanical simulation where you import the Flow data you can determine the resulting drag force, then with the fluid properties, your velocity input, and the projected area of the car it should be easy. Not automatic, but pretty straight forward.

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8 Replies

Lenny Bucholz Jan 8, 2013 9:46 AM
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Correct Answer
Solidworks opens native Rhino files, unless it's the student version then you cannot, educational will open them also.

if you are a student you can get the T-splines for SW free, then you can do any mods to the model in SW instead of going back and fourth between the 2.
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Chris Michalski Jan 8, 2013 10:03 AM
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Correct Answer
SWFlow requires solids to calculate, so if your Rhino model is all surfaces, you will first need to make it a solid body in order to run a flow simulation.
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W. Dv Jan 8, 2013 5:46 PM
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Correct Answer
Thanks guys, but it still doesnt work, take a look at this picture please: https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/740841_4816675307847_1185976024_o.jpg
That is what i get to see every time. how to fix that?
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- Chris Michalski @ W. Dv on Jan 8, 2013 8:17 PM
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  Correct Answer
  it is because you only have a surface body, not a solid body. You need to add thickness and convert it into a solid body, otherwise Solidworks Flow Simulation won't recognize it. Flow does not support surfaces.
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W. Dv Jan 9, 2013 2:14 PM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Thank you! it worked for me, look what i've got now!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/737214_4821593030787_1143172671_o.jpg

There's only one problem, the model is way too big and i tried to resize it but i cant. I tried to do it with features -> measure and then adjust the things it says. Neither can i use smart dimension to measure or resize my model, do you know how i can resize it?

And I need to know the drag coefficiënt on the body (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient), but its not in the solidworks help and i couldnt find it on our forums Do you know how to make solidworks calculate the drag coefficient?
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- Chris Michalski @ W. Dv on Jan 9, 2013 2:45 PM
  Mark Correct
  Correct Answer
  Once it is a solid you should be able to use the Scale function to shrink the entire model by a unifom factor.
  
  As for a drag coefficient I would have to do some looking and both of my simulation computers are in the middle of solving studies right now.
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
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W. Dv Jan 10, 2013 11:41 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Thank you Chris! I´ll open a new topic asking about the drag coefficient as i´ve spent many hours looking on the internet without any results
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- Chris Michalski @ W. Dv on Jan 10, 2013 11:51 AM
  Mark Correct
  Correct Answer
  You'll likely have to calculate it. If you run a mechanical simulation where you import the Flow data you can determine the resulting drag force, then with the fluid properties, your velocity input, and the projected area of the car it should be easy. Not automatic, but pretty straight forward.
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
  Actions

Aerodynamics on Rhino car

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