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Technical Paper

Unsteady Flow Analysis of a Formula Type Open Wheel Race Car in Cornering

2006-12-05
2006-01-3661
In this paper we analyze the unsteady flow dynamics of a Formula type race car in turning condition and offer potential design recommendations for it. In the competitive world of motorsports, performance in cornering is of vital importance. A vehicle in turning is subjected to highly unsteady aerodynamic forces, which affect vehicle stability and control. Hence its competitiveness is influenced adversely. In a steady flow solution typical of most CFD solvers, periodic flow structures driving the aero-forces are evened out. Hence with such data, one can obtain very limited insight for design improvements. We address this problem by using PowerFLOW, which provides a truly unsteady flow solution. The obtained time series data, allows us to visualize the flow events in real time as well as apply spectral methods to identify vehicle geometry components that drive these events.
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