Aerodynamic analysis of complex geometries using CFD

Aerodynamic analysis has become one of the most important tools in many engineering applications. In this sense, this thesis work is aimed at performing aerodynamic analysis of different geometries, expanding the available knowledge and obtaining valuable insight from the obtained results. Aerodynamic analysis can be carried out, principally, in two ways: Experimental research and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The former makes use of prototypes, wind tunnels and test tracks, making it a very expensive option. On the other hand, CFD makes use of numerical tools to solve the Navier-Stokes equations within a computational discretized domain. This latter approach is essentially limited by the available computational power and by the aerodynamicist's experience. This work comprises eight chapters. The first one is an introduction to the type of flows and geometries considered, as well as, the general methodology followed in the posterior studies. The following six chapters are the core of this dissertation, and encompass the numerical resolution of the Navier-Stokes equations in selected geometries, ordered by complexity level. In particular, the contents of these seven chapters have been submitted or published in international journals and conferences. For this reason, they are self contained and few changes have been made. The reader might find that some concepts are repeated along them. The last chapter contains concluding remarks. Finally, appendix 1 describes some applications of aerodynamic studies to some related projects and appendix 2 comprises a list of publications done during the PhD.