Naslov
Aerodynamic forces acting on a race car for various ground clearances and rake angles

Autori
Džijan, Ivo ; Pašić, Aleksandar ; Buljac, Andrija ; Kozmar, Hrvoje

Izvornik
Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics (1735-3572) 12 (2019), 2; 361-368

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Race car ; Aerodynamic drag and lift forces ; Ground clearance ; Rake angle ; Computational simulations

Sažetak
Computational model was developed to investigate aerodynamic forces acting on a closed-wheel race car. A particular focus was on the effects of ground clearance and rake angle on aerodynamic drag and lift forces. Computations were performed for a steady viscous fluid flow using the realizable k-ε turbulence model and non- equilibrium wall functions. The computational results indicate a strong influence of ground clearance and rake angle on aerodynamic loading of a race car. The largest drag force coefficient was obtained for the largest ground clearance. The drag force coefficient for the squatting car is larger by 5% compared to the reference case, where the both front and rear ground clearances are 100 mm. For the nose-diving car, the drag force coefficient is equal to the reference case. Increasing the ground clearance caused a negligible increase in the lift force coefficient in comparison with the reference case. A decrease in the ground clearance yielded an increase in the lift force coefficient. The largest positive lift force coefficient was obtained for a squatting car, whereas the largest negative lift force coefficient was observed for a nose-diving car. While the favorable aerodynamic downforce acting on front wheels is larger for a nose- diving car, for rear wheels it is larger for a squatting car.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Matematika, Fizika, Strojarstvo

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