Aerodynamic Mapping of a Formula Student Prototype using Numerical Simulations and On-track Validation

June 7, 2022

Aerodynamic forces on a race car depend on its attitude, which changes along the track given the accelerations they are subjected to. The main objective of this work is to understand how the attitude affects the FST10e aerodynamics, the latest prototype made by FST Lisboa. The car's attitude was broken down into five parameters of interest: front and rear ride heights, roll, steering and yaw angles, with the vehicle behaviour being estimated by CFD simulations. The primary focus of CFD was cornering condition simulation, with the corresponding numerical error estimated by performing a mesh convergence. The influence of each of these parameters was evaluated individually, with the most impactful sensitivity being the yaw angle with a 16% change in downforce across the interval. Roll angle revealed to have a monotonic and rather independent behaviour resulting in 9% change in downforce and a shift of 12% in pressure centre. Ride height presented a significant change with a 10% change in CD.A and 20% in -CL.A between peak values in symmetric conditions. An aerodynamic map was then created based on over 100 data points, which provided a thorough understanding across the working envelope. The results can be promptly obtained by using a surrogate model, which overcomes the slow CFD analyses. Lastly, an aerodynamic validation component was also addressed to estimate downforce and drag coefficients with on-track testing. The main challenge encountered was estimating air speed during validation testing, which revealed to be a great source of uncertainty to correlate with CFD results.

Authors in the community:

• 

  M

  Miguel Marques Carreira

  ist181564

Supervisors of this institution:

• 

  L

  Luís Rego da Cunha de Eça

  ist12278

• 

  A

  André Calado Marta

  ist31052

mechanical-engineering - Mechanical engineering

por - Portuguese

Instituto Superior Técnico