AERODYNAMICS AND RACE CARS

PERFORMANCE MODELLING AND CFD

Fabio Bosio – M.Eng in Mechanical Engineering 1

 THE IMPACT OF AERODYNAMICS ON VEHICLE SHAPE

• How much importance has Aerodynamics on developing faster cars?

1993 Malboro Penske - Indy 500

VS
1916 Peugeut - Indy 500

2
 THE IMPACT OF AERODYNAMICS ON VEHICLE SHAPE
• Importance of streamlining on cars design
• Generation of Aerodynamic Downforce

1993 Malboro Penske - Indy 500

VS
1916 Peugeut - Indy 500

3
 GENERATION OF AERODYNAMICS FORCES
Airfoil moves from right to left

• Wing generates lift but also drag

• Improvement in a vehicle’s drag load reflects in a fuel reduction
• For race car application, the airfoil is inverted
4
 GENERATION OF AERODYNAMICS FORCES
• A side-force component must be included

• For low level of side winds this aerodynamic load is small

5
 SCOPE OF RACE CARE DESIGN

• Reduce Drag: secondary

• Generate negative Lift (Downforce)

It leads to major improvements in race car performance

It increases the tires’ cornering ability

6
 AERODYNAMIC DOWNFORCE AND PERFORMANCE

Driving, braking and cornering forces are created at the contact

path between the tire and the road

Increases DOWNFORCE

Increases Loads on tires, without increasing the vehicle’s weight

7
 AERODYNAMIC DOWNFORCE AND PERFORMANCE
Improvement trends in technological aspects of race car design:

• Engine
• Tires and suspension
• Aerodynamic

1960’s: Aerodynamic experimentations

1972: introducing front and rear wings
8
 AERODYNAMIC DOWNFORCE VS CORNERING SPEED

Solid line: tires improvements

Broken line: development in using inverted aerodynamic wings9
 CREATING AND MEASURING AERODYNAMIC FORCE
a) Use inverted Wings, to generate downforce

b) Altering the shape of the car, to generate downforce

GROUND EFFECT 10
CREATING AND MEASURING AERODYNAMIC FORCE

GROUND EFFECT

11
 CREATING AND MEASURING AERODYNAMIC FORCE

c) Underbody tunnels

Tunnels form a longitudinal diffuser,

which is canted upward, toward the
tail of a race car

12
 MEASURING AERODYNAMIC FORCE – WIND TUNNEL

Long tunnel, in which Air is

moved by big fans

Controlled parameters:
• Airspeed
• Flow-direction
• Temperature
• Humidity
No outdoor influenced
parameters
• Car is placed far away from fans, to avoid its turbulence and swirl
• Smoke traces identify the direction of the airflow and to examine
whether these line separate from the vehicle’s body
• If the flow moves attached to the body, then drag is usually lower 13