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Journal Article

The Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Race Car Wing Operating in a Wake

2008-04-14
2008-01-0658
It is well documented that the aerodynamic performance of an open wheel race car is degraded when closely following another car. The greatest performance loss is usually experienced by the front-mounted wing leading to reduced aerodynamic downforce, handling imbalance and a reduced overtaking capability. Although previous wind tunnel studies have been performed to investigate this race situation the model scales have generally been compromised in order to achieve representative separation between the two test vehicles within the confines of the wind tunnel working section and particularly within the limited length of the moving ground plane. This study addresses that issue by using a very short, bluff body to create an accurate representation of the wake flow from the leading car in order to provide additional, effective test length ahead of the instrumented model.
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