Evaluating the Importance of Rear Spoiler on Energy Efficiency of Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained the attention of many authorities, automakers and researchers due to their considerable energy saving and emission reduction. One of the main issues that must be considered in design of a road vehicle is the calculation of aerodynamic forces. This issue also must be scrutinized in the design of EVs. Installation of rear spoiler is one of the solutions proposed for reduction of aerodynamic drag in racing cars and consequently increasing their maximum speed. This study focuses on the effects of installing a rear spoiler on an EV. The vehicle's drag and lift coefficients are determined by solving a 3D steady-state incompressible solution of Navier-Stokes equations with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis in ANSYS FLUENT. In order to verify the effects of installing a rear spoiler on an EV, all the components were modelled in MATLAB /SIMULINK also, practical tests were performed to confirm and verify the simulation results. The results show that installing a rear spoiler on an EV, not only improves the aerodynamic characteristics of vehicle but also improves operating efficiency of electric motor and some operational aspects of batteries. In addition, it is shown that an EV with a rear spoiler is able to travel more in comparison with an EV without rear spoiler.