Approach to numerical simulation of water and air flow around aquaplaning car tire is described. The approach for governing equations solving is based on a finite-volume method and non-staggered Cartesian adaptive locally refined grid. A method of subgrid geometry resolution is proposed for accurate
description of curvilinear complex boundaries. This method uses a presentation of boundaries as a set of plane facets and makes CFD code compatible with CAD systems. The described technology is implemented in FlowVision code. Some results of simulation of car tire aquaplaning performed by FlowVision are presented The tire lift dependence on a tread picture is calculated.
The valve stem seal is an important part of any internal combustion engine. The seal supplies a lubrication of valve stem and limits emission of oil. To design reliable and long-life stem seals a numerical simulation of the seal work is used. Numerical simulation helps to understand the main features of the stem seal working cycle and estimate the changing seal characteristics because of seal aging processes. The problem of oil flow via stem seal involves fluid-structure interaction between an oil flow induced by oscillating stem and deformable seal made from rubber. The Fluid-Structure Interaction Problem is solved numerically by using two codes: Abaqus/Explicit to get deformation of rubber seal and CFD code FlowVision to simulate oil flow.
The first valve stem seal was invented in 1958. It was made up of Buna-N (NBR) Elastomer Body, Ring retainer, Teflon insert working in a 400°F temperature environment. In the early days before the invention of valve stem seals, there was higher oil consumption, excess blow by through the valves and high wear of the valves.
