Aerodynamics of Formula1 car

Project: Ronak Arora

Introduction to Aerospace Vehicles (AE3010) ME17BTECH11041

Introduction:
Formula 1 car depends on elements such as engine, tires, suspension, track,
aerodynamics and of course the driver. In recent years however aerodynamics gained
increase attention due to utilization of downforce principle, yielding several important
performance improvements. Teams
So how does downforce affect the performance of the car?
Higher the downforce, higher are the traction forces (lateral (cornering forces)
and longitudinal (acceleration and braking) forces). As the force accelerating the car is
mostly limited by engine power, it is not much affected by the downforce. The figure
below shows comparison of lateral force (Fy) vs slip angle(β) at normal force (Fz).

Increase in cornering force can be clearly observed with increase in normal

force at same slip angle. Thus, higher the downforce, higher the max speed of car while
traversing a corner without sliding (mostly understeer). Similar curve can be obtained
for longitudinal force as well where slip is ratio between actual road and tire rotation
speed.
Another important factor to be considered is the lateral stability which is
achieved by aerodynamic balance of the car. Also, increasing downforce, is
accompanied by increase in drag, but ability to corner at high speed and vehicle
stability clearly contribute in overall reduced lap time.
Different aerodynamic elements of an F1 vehicle:
Front Wing:
Role of the Front Wing:
Before proceeding, it is extremely important to understand the role of the front
wing in a Formula One car. The front wing works in the opposite way of how an aircraft
wing works. While an aircraft wing produces lift, the front wing produces downforce
to keep the car from taking off. In other words, the airfoil of a front wing is profiled so
that it helps keep the car on the ground and wheels in contact with the surface. Thus,
it plays a major role in ensuring sufficient grip and traction for the car.
The front wing is also responsible for modifying the handling characteristics of the car.
By rotating the front flap angle, the level of downforce generated by the front wing
can be altered. As a result, the total downforce level can be redistributed between the
front and rear tyres, permitting the race engineer to correct for understeer or
oversteer. The setup can be modified to suit different circuits, weather conditions, tyre
wear and driver preference.
The other major role that the front wing serves is to manipulate the flow to the rest of
the car. A vast array of intricate aerodynamic elements have been precisely arranged
to direct the flow around the front wheels and control the wheel wakes downstream.
The intention is to maximise the quality of flow to the underfloor and diffuser. The
increasing complexity of the front wing is a result of the compromise between front
and rear downforce generation. Generate too much front downforce and you
compromise the ability for the rear to do the same.
In fact, often a race car aerodynamicist will seek to maximise the downforce generated
at the rear of the car. This is because the underfloor and diffuser are the most efficient
downforce generating devices.

CFD Simulation of airflow around front wing.

Major factors governing front wing design:
1. the front wing is the only major downforce generating device exposed to the
undisturbed air. This means a high amount of energy can be ‘extracted’ by the
front wing which manifests itself as downforce as well as drag. In other words,
the front wing is aerodynamically very sensitive to small geometric changes and
as a result, an unprecedented degree of complexity has arisen.
2. The front wing operates in ‘ground effect’. This is the phenomenon whereby as
the proximity between ground and the front wing diminishes, an enhancement
in downforce level is observed at an exponential rate (i.e. until the wing ‘stalls’).
Ground effect increases the efficiency of downforce production and is partly
why the latest trend is to run the car at extreme rake (i.e. low front ride height
and high rear ride height means the front wing sits closer to the ground).
3. Because the front wing is mounted forwards of the front wheel axle line, small
variations in front ride height can lead to relatively large changes in front wing
ground proximity. Hence downforce levels can change dramatically leading to
sudden and large shifts in aero balance. Therefore, another goal of front wing
design is to mitigate the amount of ‘ride height sensitivity’ to produce a car with
consistent aero balance as the car navigates its way through the track. Ride
height sensitivity mitigation is perhaps the most challenging aspect of the
design, as the wing has to be optimised across a large operating range (this
makes it computationally very expensive when developing in CFD).

The above image illustrates the static pressure distribution around the front wing.
Orange to red indicates positive static pressure whilst green to blue indicates a
negative static pressure. The major downforce will be generated in middle region of
wing as most pressure difference is present there.
Front Wing Design:
The front wing is designed in a shape that is opposite of an airfoil to prevent it
from taking off. The front wing (or the main plane) is suspended from the nose and
runs along the entire length of the Formula One car. To this main plane, adjustable
flaps are attached and at the ends of the main plane, the endplates are attached. The
different parts of the front wing are shown in image below.

Endplate:
Endplates are one of the most important aspects of the front wing. The
optimization of their position and shape can significantly improve the overall
aerodynamics. The endplates have 5-10 times more effect than most other parts. They
control the flow of air around the Formula One car by redirecting the airflow around
the tires. This pushes wake of tyres away from car and facilitates the airflow to
continue back to the side pods and the car floor.
The endplates do not allow turbulent air created by the front tire from getting
under the floor of the car. To further assist in the functionality of the endplates, some
Formula One cars also use vertical fences—called splitters—attached to the under
surface of the front wing.
Wing Flaps:
The wing flaps on either side of the nose cone are asymmetrical so that their
height is lesser near the nose cone. This arrangement facilitates the air to flow into the
radiators and to the underfloor. If the height of the wing flap is same as the nose cone,
it would reduce the overall air to the radiators and thereby lead to a rise in engine
temperatures.
The asymmetrical shape also allows a better airflow to the underfloor and the
diffuser, increasing downforce. The wing mainplane is in accordance with the FIA
rules—flat in the centre, and the same design is required for all cars. This again allows
a slightly better airflow to the underfloor aerodynamics, but it also reduces the wings’
ride height sensitivity. The main area of development is the wing profile interaction
with the front wing endplate.
Vortices in Front Wing Flow:
One would intuitively say that we need to minimize vortices as it would lead to
induced drag due to energy dissipation in lateral direction in air flow. Though, above
statement is true, it does not consider all aspects of front wing design. It did not take
much longer for race aero dynamists to realize that they needed the strongest of the
vortices (considering current FIA rules) to push wake of front tyre away from the car
to facilitate better downforce generation from floor, diffusers and rear wing of the
tyre. The vortices also in some places help to delay flow separation from the wing
which in turn is also a major aspect in front wing design.

The above image animates flow from front wheel. The vortices can be observed here
pushing the wake of the front tyres away from car.
Floor/Diffuser:
Downforce distribution of f1 car:

From above image, the importance of the floor and diffuser can be understood as it
creates about 60% of the total downforce and are also most aerodynamically efficient
components of an f1 car.
Diffuser (a key element of an f1 car, design change of which once created a race
winning car (Brawn GP) in ground effect era of f1 history).

Diffuser is opening at rear of the floor and is the part

most responsible for generating downforce from
underside of the floor. Flow is accelerated under the
floor (many cars use high rake setup too facilitate)
and faster moving area of low pressure is generated.
This generates downforce as higher pressure air
above the car pusher the car downwards.
As diffuser opens up the airflow accelerates further under the floor creating a point of
lowest pressure underneath the floor. This air is then drawn into the diffuser space
expanding to create transition zone between fast underfloor velocity and ambient
velocity surrounding the car. No flow separation has to be ensured in diffuser as it can
very much affect the performance of the diffuser. Turbulent air underneath the floor
can also create pockets of high pressure which can upset the stability of the car.
Teams have to maximize gains off the diffuser and also have to manage how the air
leaves the diffuser area in order to minimize the trailing drag produced by the car. This
is why the end of diffuser comes equipped with small wing lift around the top surface.
The inside of diffuser also comes with stripes creating the vortices which also help
develop the lower pressure underneath the floor.

Bargeboards:
Bargeboards are pieces of bodywork on open-wheel racing cars, serving a purely
aerodynamic (as opposed to structural) function. They are curved vertical planes
situated longitudinally, between the front wheels and the sidepods, held away from
the chassis at the front on struts or other connectors, and connecting to the sidepods
or extensions of the floor at the rear. In general, they are significantly taller at the front
than at the rear making them trapezoidal in profile, and they curve outward in plan
view, being closer to the centreline of the car at the front, and curving out towards the
rear.
Function:
Aerodynamically, bargeboards act primarily as flow conditioners, smoothing and
redirecting the turbulent or "dirty" air in the wake of the front wing, the front
suspension links, and the rotating front wheels.
Part of their function is to direct the turbulent wakes of the front wing and spinning
front wheels away from downstream aerodynamic surfaces. In this capacity, they
separate different components of this mixture of flows, and direct them either outside
and around the sidepods, or direct flow towards the radiator inlets. As such, the
configuration of bargeboards can have significance with respect to cooling. They also
help direct flow behind the front wheels, reducing the wake drag created by the wheel
profile.
Vortex generators:
Another important function of bargeboards is to act as vortex generators, redirecting
and energizing airflow. The upper, downward sloping edge can shed a large vortex
downstream around the sidepods, where it can interact favourably with flip-ups, or
aid in sealing the low-pressure underbody flow from the ambient stream. The bottom
edge of the bargeboard can also shed vortices that energize the airflow to the
underbody, which can help delay flow separation and allow the use of more aggressive
diffuser profiles. In recent years, these two edges have acquired relatively large
serrations or protruding tabs to enhance this aspect of their performance.
Turning vanes:
Smaller, similar structures are often situated further forward, between the front
wheels and the monocoque. These are typically called "turning vanes" rather than
bargeboards, and are used in addition to, or sometimes in place of full bargeboards,
depending on the aerodynamic approach of the car.

S-ducts:
The F1 S-duct is an innovative aerodynamic trick that has been on F1 cars since 2012.
The problem:
Whenever air flows over a surface, it loses energy, which causes the flow to slow down
and become turbulent or ‘dirty’. One of the main areas where this occurs is around
the front wing. As air flows through the gap between the underside of the nose, the
upper surface of the front wing and the inner faces of the front wing pillars (highlighted
in blue below) an expanding tube of turbulent air is created. To make matters worse,
the air that impacts the top corners of the nose then accelerates round and rolls
underneath; adding to this turbulent tube of air that then continues downstream.
 The air flowing through the marked area is turbulent and to mitigate its effect, the F1 S-duct was developed

As this air travels downstream, it feeds the main turning vanes as well as the leading
edge of the underfloor. If this oncoming flow is turbulent the aerodynamic
performance of these devices greatly reduces. Therefore, the cleaner the teams can
get this airflow, the more performance they can extract from the other aero devices
downstream.
‘The airflow under the nose is ‘dirty’ which means it is a slower speed flow that has
been worked by the presence of the nose and the front wing,’ explains Arron Melvin,
Principal Aerodynamicist at Haas F1 Team. ‘To be legal, it is necessary to have certain
nose volumes and inevitably there is a boundary layer growth due to the front wing
and nose expansions and you can also get acceleration around the shoulder of the
nose which leads to a high curvature flow.’
The Solution:
To minimise the impact of this expanding tube of turbulent air, the F1 S-duct was
developed. ‘We have introduced an F1 S-duct for the first time this year [2019] and
essentially we ingest this dirty flow from under the nose through two pairs of NACA
ducts and then release this flow on top of the chassis, rather than letting it travel
underneath the car,’ highlights Melvin. ‘If we let it go underneath the car, the lower
speed flow would arrive at the main turning vane, whereas now it goes through the
inlets, into the cockpit and over the sidepod and does less harm. It is very much about
where to place loss.’

The F1 S-duct ingests dirty airflow via inlet NACA ducts

(blue arrows) and sends this flow to the cockpit via an
outlet (green arrows)
F1 S-DUCT INLET:
The inlets for the F1 S-duct are usually NACA ducts. This is a type of inlet which allows
the air to be drawn in with high efficiency and minimal drag. To achieve this, NACA
ducts are usually placed parallel to the local airflow and in locations where the
boundary layer is relatively thin.
The theory is that the shape and design of these NACA ducts encourages vortices to
form, reducing static pressure and enhancing the efficiency of the flow through the
inlet. As air flows towards the narrow end of the duct, it flows down the gentle slope
and into the inlet. But the air that approaches from outside the inlet has to flow over
the edges which causes a vortex. This results in the formation of two counter-rotating
longitudinal vortices which then induce more air to flow into and through the duct.

The rolling vortex forms along the ducts edge (blue) which induces more air into the inlet

F1 S-DUCT OUTLET:
Once the air has entered the NACA ducts on the side of the nose, it is channeled
through to the F1 S-duct outlet which is situated at the bridge of the nose. This outlet
can often be misinterpreted as a device to help avoid flow separation. However, this
outlet simply allows for the turbulent airflow surrounding the nose to be extracted
and directed towards the cockpit where it will do the least damage to the overall car’s
aerodynamic performance.
‘It’s a very clear but ultimately relatively subtle technology and for a small team such
as Haas, we had to be sure of the benefit to justify the additional costs,’ says Melvin.
‘The nose is a lot more complicated to design and slightly heavier – it is an aerodynamic
vs structural trade-off.’
This more complex design relates to the fact that the air has to be channelled through
the nose, up to the outlet. But these channels have to be incorporated into the nose
in such a way that it retains its structural requirements to pass the FIA crash safety
tests. This is the most likely reason behind why not all teams have adopted this
technology yet.
Rear Wing:
Aerofoil in motorsports are called wings where it can generate high downforce by
having a high angle of attack, therefore increasing the drag of the aerofoil. Daniel
Bernoulli deduced a formula proving that the total energy in steadily flowing fluid
system is a constant along the flow path. An increase on the fluid’s speed will resulting
in decrease in its pressure. Adding up the pressure variation times the area around the
entire body determines the aerodynamic force on the body.
Aerofoils are mostly designed with more thickness on the lower side. As downforce
generating, the lower airstream is slightly reduced in surface, hence increasing the
flow speed and decreasing the pressure. On top of the wing, the airspeed is lower,
thus the pressure difference will generate a downward force on the wing. More
specifically, the shape of the wing will turn air upwards and change its velocity.

Drag Reduction System:

The drag reduction system (or DRS) is a form of driver-adjustable bodywork aimed at
reducing aerodynamic drag in order to increase top speed and promote overtaking in
motor racing. It is an adjustable rear wing of the car, which moves in response to driver
commands.[1] DRS often comes with conditions, such as the pursuing car must be
within a second (when both cars cross the detection point) for DRS to be activated.

DRS was introduced in Formula One in 2011. The use of DRS is an exception to the rule
banning any moving parts whose primary purpose is to affect the aerodynamics of the
car.

In Formula One, the DRS opens an adjustable flap on the rear wing of the car, in order
to reduce drag, thus giving a pursuing car an overtaking advantage over the car in
front. The FIA estimate the speed increase to be between 10–12 km/h by the end of
the activation zone.[4] When the flap is closed it increases downforce, giving better
cornering.
The device can only be used during a race after two racing laps have been completed,
and when the pursuing car enters a designated "activation" zone defined by the FIA.
When usage of the DRS remained legal for the 2012 season, a second zone was added
to the opening round's track in Melbourne. A third DRS zone was added in Melbourne
in 2018, Bahrain, Montreal and Singapore in 2019.
Design:
NACA 4-digit aerofoil are the most used aerofoil in Formula 1 rear wing.
The NACA airfoils are airfoil shapes developed by the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics (NACA). The shape of the NACA aerofoils is described using a series of
digits following the word "NACA". The parameters in the numerical code can be
entered into equations to precisely generate the cross-section of the airfoil and
calculate its properties.
The NACA four-digit wing sections define the profile by:
1. First digit describing maximum camber as percentage of the chord.
2. Second digit describing the distance of maximum camber from the airfoil
leading edge in tens of percents of the chord.
3. Last two digits describing maximum thickness of the airfoil as percent of the
chord.
For example, the NACA 2412 airfoil has a maximum camber of 2% located 40% (0.4
chords) from the leading edge with a maximum thickness of 12% of the chord.
Rear wing endplate Design:
There is also one very important part of rear wing design other than aerofoil chord
length and NACA specification of aerofoil, the endplate.
The endplate of rear wing has small slots(louvres) in it to reduce the strength of vortex
generated at the end due to pressure difference between the rear wing and the outer
part. There is also a cut-out at end of the wing generating a wing tip vortex (also found
in front wing for throwing the tyre wake away from car!) which is in direction opposite
to that created due to pressure difference and thus reducing drag by reducing the
energy loss of air in vortex (induced drag).