Design of a front aerodynamic package : final design report
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Date
2012-06-11
Authors
Balakrishnan, Nishant
Alnouri, Mohamed
Heiranian, Mohammad
Koos, Waldemar
Journal Title
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Abstract
Aerodynamic devices are utilized in higher levels of motorsport such as Formula-1 to increase
the traction of the tires by generating down force. This increase in traction increases the performance
envelope of the race car since cornering can be performed at higher speeds without a loss of control.
However, the aerodynamic device that provides the down force also increases drag. The additional drag
is especially detrimental on straight sections of the track. As higher speeds are attained, the increased
drag leads to a decrease in lap-times and the drive force required is increased. An ideal solution is a
dynamically adjustable aerodynamic device which offers the ability to change the relative amount of
down force and drag. Such devices have been used in many forms of motorsport in the past.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Design Series is an engineering
competition wherein university students compete in the design, building and racing of an open-wheel
race car. The Formula Electric team has requested a design of an adjustable aerodynamic device. The
device is to be mounted to the front of the vehicle such that the wing mount is integrated into the
carbon fibre monocoque. Furthermore, the nose cone is to be designed such that there is absolutely no
lift experienced by it. The dimensions of the vehicle were provided. The goal of the design is to decrease
the team’s lap times during the autocross event at the SAE competition.
In this report, the details of the design are presented. When the car is on a straight away, the
device positions itself such that it has minimal detrimental aerodynamic effect, as requested by the
client. During cornering, the functional position is assumed, which creates down force. The variable
down force is accomplished by an active wing section that was optimized to create as much down force
as possible given that the car would be banking a turn at approximately 50 km/h. In addition to the
active wing, another wing section is fixed in close proximity to the ground. The bottom wing
accomplishes several tasks. Firstly, it is used as a structural member supporting the endplates to which
the active wing is mounted. Secondly, it houses the actuators and microcontroller responsible for the
adjustment of the active wing.
The developed design was used in a simulation of the current SAE Electric race car. At a
representative speed of 50 km/h, the use of the active front wing was found to improve steady state
cornering by 6% to 1.89g (active wing @ 13°). Alternatively, the car’s straight-line braking could be
improved by 8% to 2.04g (active wing @ 28°). With the wing in the low-drag position (active wing @
+6°), the additional power requirement is only 19.45W.
Description
Keywords
design, front, aerodynamic, package