Aerodynamic Analysis of 4-Element Front Wing of a Formula 1 Car Complying with the 2022 Formula 1 Regulations

Heng, Jit Yong (2022) Aerodynamic Analysis of 4-Element Front Wing of a Formula 1 Car Complying with the 2022 Formula 1 Regulations. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

The front wing that installs in the Formula 1 car is considered one of the important aerodynamic devices to produce downforce that helps to pin the car on the ground during high speed. Recently, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) announced the new 2022 technical regulations for Formula 1 (FIA 2019a).Which motivates engineers to study the new rules and come up with a front wing design that complies with the 2022 technical regulations. When multi-element wings with wingtip devices are selected, the aerodynamic investigation is essential to make sure the front wing used in the Formula 1 is managed to generate downforce. In this study, a 4-element front wing that comply with 2022 technical regulations is built. Then the aerodynamic performance of the 4-element front was investigated through the help of numerical methods (Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD) that employed the Reynolds Averaged Navier– Stokes (RANS) equation solver, k-omega SST turbulence model and incompressible solver with 3 manipulated variables which include 16 different angles of attack of the flap with the range of 10 degrees to 25 degrees, 6 difference ground clearance with the range of 100mm to 200mm and with and without endplate attachment attach on the wingtip. But before the investigation started, the simulation setup was validated through grid convergence analysis to ensure the accuracy of the results and to assess their uncertainty. Then, the result of the investigation of 4-element front wing aerodynamic performance is collected by running the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation with different parameters as mentioned using the validated setup. Next, the investigation is carried on with an analysis of the data collected from the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation by observing the pressure distribution, velocity distribution, coefficient of lift and drag that extract from the Computational Fluid Dynamics. Through this study, 3 conclusions can be highlighted. First, the downforce generation is increase when the angle of attack is increased but it comes with the price to pay are increasing drag force. Second, more downforce generation is the force when the 4-element front wing is placed closer to the ground and again more downforce is produced when the 4-element front wing is placed near the ground. Lastly, the endplate attachment on the wingtips is found to be one of the most effective ways to generate extra downforce without inducing unnecessary drag force.