Independent Research Project
project title -
DETERMINATION OF DRAG FORCE OF FORMULA -1 CAR FRONT WINGS
OBJECTIVES :
- The main objective of this project is that , which type of front wing design model can reduce the air flow resistance on the front tyres
- And also to find which type of design model creates less air flow resistance (Drag) on the tyre as compared
INTRODUCTION:
As we all know Formula -1 cars are the fastest in the world -375 km/h .In order to achieve that a lot of engineering takes place .A Formula-1 car straight forward can attain a sufficient speed to take flight .And mostly importantly we know FormulaOne is Exciting sport and has a strong following . In the F1 car the front and rear wings plays a very important role to increase the overall aerodynamics of the car.These increases extra 2 to 3 hp to the car .As the F1 cars drive faster in corners as compared to the other cars as due to because of the downforce that created by the wings .without the downforce it wouldn't be possible to go that much faster in the corners .The wings are designed to reduce drag and increase the downforce of the car.it also permits the shorter braking distance and high cornering speeds .This downforce generates 80% of the grip to the car so the car can withstand the centrifugal forces that been generated without been sliping off the track .This ensures the performance of the car and also the safety.And there is no particular designs that works for all the circuits .For different circuits different designs has to be optimised .The CFD helps the teams to have clear veiw of the performance and also reduce the cost and provides better simulation .It also been observed that alot of front wing design changes took place to get the better performance
In this project i am going to use three different Front wings -
- Flat plate
- Wing plate
- Double wing plate
- Endplate
Now we are going to discuss about the front wing and it's importance .The front wing in the F1 car acts opposite to that of the aircraft wings .In the air craft it is used to generate the lift but in the F1 car it is used to increase the downforce and reduce the lift that prevents form taking off .In addition to the controlling of the downforce ,the front wings plays a very important role in the controlling of the overall aerodynamics .And this is the first part that comes contact with the air .
The parts of the front wing are -Endplate ,Flat plate and wing plate
ENDPLATE -
End plate is one of the most important aspects of th e front wing .The optimization of their position and shape can significantly improve the overall aerodynamics . the endplates have 5-10 times more efficient than the most other parts .they control the air flow arond the car and redirecting the airflow around the tyres .this also plays a vital role in the reduction of the drag .this minimizes the over all drag resistance produced and facilitates the air flow to continue back to the side pods and the car floor .the inside edges of the endplate are curved to ensure that the air flow around the tyres.In addition the end plate stops the high pressure air and low pressure air beanth the front wing .In order to attain the performance ,ensure it minimizes the air flow.
Flat plate,wing plate and double wing plate -
these wings plays a very important role in the reduction of the drag .the wing plates and flat plate directs the air flow over the tyre .so the air doesn't comes much contact with the tyre ,by this the drag can be reduced .And by using these different types of the designs ,we can find difference in the drag reduction and also the performace and also the air flow .
PROCEDURE :
Now coming to the procedure of the simulation process - i have been drafted the models in Solidworks and then converted the files into the step and then imported into the spaceclaim.
GEOMETRY-
- Drafted in solidworks and then imported into Ansys by converting into step format .
Geometry in dimensions
Geometry in solidworks -double wing plate
Geomerty in solidworks -flat plate
Geometry in solid works -Wing plate
FLAT PLATE :
- Create enclosure as the per the dimensions and then supress the components for physics as they don't encounter any problem during the solution process and then hide the components ,then we can have a clear view of the enclosure that has been created
MESH -
- In the mesh give the names to the components as inlet ,outlet ,wall ,flat plate ,tyre
- And then generate mesh
Mesh
Nodes -102163
Elements -555422
And then update mesh
SET UP -
- K-epsilon model
- inlet velocity -90 m/s
- Initialization -Hybrid initialization
- Definitions -Drag plot
- Reference values
- before starting the calcuclation ,make sure that the residuals are disabled ,to get the accurate results
- after everything is done- click on Run calcuclation
Residuals
Drag plot -flat plate
Velocity -streamline
Velocity -vector
Velocity -plane
WING PLATE :
Geometry-
- Create the enclosure after importing the geometry into the spaceclaim and then supress the components for Physics and then close the spaceclaim
Geometry in the spaceclaim
MESH -
- Same process follows as above
Mesh
Nodes - 97732
Elements - 534187
SET UP -
- K eplison -Turbulence model
- Inlet velocity - 90 m/s
- Intialization -Hybrid intialization
- Plots - drag plots
- Material-Fluid -Air
- Disable the residuals and then run the caluclation
Residuals
Drag plot -wing plate
pressure plot
Velocity -vector plot
Velcoity -plane
Inserted line
Chart
Double wing plate:
Geometry -
Geometry
MESH -
Mesh size -100mm - face sizing -80 mm
Nodes - 79359
Elements - 431265
Then update mesh
SET UP -
- K epsilon Turbulence model
- Inlet velocity -90 m/s
- Material - Fluid - Air
- Intialization -Hybrid intialization
- Drag plots
- contours
- Run caluclation
Pressure plane
Residuals
Drag plot
Pressure plot
Streamline -velocity
Vector plot -velocity
velocity -plane
Velocity contour plot
top veiw of the contour plot
vector plot top view
showing the fluid flow over the three wings
In order to caluclate the drag foce
| DRAG VALUES | |
| Flate plate | 0.229 |
| Wing | 0.205 |
| Double wing | 0.184 |
DISCUSSION :
- As from the above shown results ,we got a idea that which model of the wing produces more drag and which creates the less drag as shown
- As we seen that the Flat plate produces more drag then compared to the others ,as this is because the more wing angle increases the downforce but also increases the drag as well
- The curved wing plates can direct more air flow as compared to the flat plate ,and we also make sure while designing the curved wing , should not give more curve that which causes the lift
- As if we observe from the drag plots ,that at the starting ,when air first comes into contact with wing their is high raise of the drag line ,and then as the air passes through it then it became stable as it deflects
- Based on the wing shapes also the drag may vary , as we can observe from the drag plots that ,as we can see drag plot for flat plate is varied from the drag plot from the double wing
CONCLUSION :
By Doing this project , i got a idea how to caluclate the drag force and not only this i also got an idea how to determine the drag force on front wings on f 1 car of different types .
And also got an idea how the F1 wings directs the the air flow and also how the air flows over the tyre and also the importance of the front wing of the F1 car .
This is what i needed to observe or determine from this project ,as how they create the drag force and how the air flows over and through the wings and as well as how the air flow deflects when it comes into contact with them .
So by this i determined the drag force of F1 car of Front wings