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Flow compressibility effects around an open-wheel racing car

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2016

J. Keogh ,
G. Doig  and
S. Diasinos
J. Keogh*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
G. Doig*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
S. Diasinos*
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia
*
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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Abstract

A numerical investigation has been conducted into the influence of flow compressibility effects around an open-wheeled racing car. A geometry was created to comply with 2012 F1 regulations. Incompressible and compressible CFD simulations were compared – firstly with models which maintained Reynolds number as Mach number increased, and secondly allowing Mach number and Reynolds number to increase together as they would on track. Results demonstrated significant changes to predicted aerodynamic performance even below Mach 0·15. While the full car coefficients differed by a few percent, individual components (particularly the rear wheels and the floor/diffuser area) showed discrepancies of over 10% at higher Mach numbers when compressible and incompressible predictions were compared. Components in close ground proximity were most affected due to the ground effect. The additional computational expense required for the more physically-realistic compressible simulations would therefore be an additional consideration when seeking to obtain maximum accuracy even at low freestream Mach numbers.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 118 , Issue 1210 , December 2014 , pp. 1409 - 1431
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2014 

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