Improving the Cooling Airflow of an Open Wheeled Race Car

Document Number: 2008-01-2995

Date Published: December 2008

Author(s):
Lasse Christoffersen - Chalmers Univ. of Technology
David Söderblom - Chalmers Univ of Technology
Lennart Löfdahl - Chalmers

Abstract:
In this case study the cooling airflow of an existing open-wheeled racecar has been improved with the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics. The race team in context had at several occasions experienced overheating of their racecar and was looking for ways to improve the cooling performance without changing the bodywork radically. As the car is used for autocross events on tight and twisty courses it spends most of a lap in yawed condition. Therefore, a novel approach was taken to model these yawed conditions with the numerical method. The simulation was based on the fully detailed race car.

Through the study it was possible to locate problem areas, and hence, give indications to where the bodywork should be modified. With subtle changes to the bodywork the cooling performance of the car was significantly improved and the drag kept at the same level.

File Size: 4125K
Product Status: In Stock

See other papers presented at Motorsports Engineering Conference & Exposition, December 2008, Concord, NC, USA, Session: Aerodynamics - Computational Methods and Modeling - Part 1

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