Aerodynamic study of cooling effects: application to an electric prototype motorcycle

July 8, 2026

This work investigates the aerodynamic and cooling effects of repositioning the frontal fairing of the TLM05e student electric prototype motorcycle. The study focuses on straight-line performance, where the fairing plays a dual role: reducing aerodynamic drag by shielding the rider and directing airflow towards the air-cooled battery pack. A steady incompressible Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes methodology with the k-omega Shear Stress Transport turbulence model was used, supported by mesh verification and convergence assessment. An initial mesh study revealed significant discretization error, motivating a geometry simplification assessment followed by a mesh topology refinement. The refined topology reduced the drag and baterry pack mass flow discretization error and reduced the uncertainty band associated with lift, providing a more reliable basis for the parametric study. The frontal fairing was displaced over an envelope defined by forward and vertical offsets. Eighteen configurations were analyzed in terms of drag, lift, and mass flow. The results show that drag reduction and cooling performance are coupled: forward displacement can streamline the fairing itself, but may expose previously shielded regions of the rider and frame, while intake enlargement only improves cooling if attached flow is preserved at the duct lip. Relative to the baseline, the parametric study achieved drag reductions of up to 4.79% and mass flow increases of up to 2.70%, for different configurations. Finally, on-track flow visualization using wool tufts and an oil-pigment mixture was performed. The observed surface patterns qualitatively confirmed the main Computational Fluid Dynamics predicted flow structures, supporting confidence in the numerical approach.

Authors in the community:

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  A

  Artur Gil Gomes Cunha

  ist199461

Supervisors of this institution:

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  L

  Luís Rego da Cunha de Eça

  ist12278

mechanical-engineering - Mechanical engineering

eng - English

Instituto Superior Técnico