Secrets of Underbody Tunnels,

Rear Diffusers and Venturis

Underbody tunnels, rear diffusers and venturis are common terms used to
describe the contouring of a racing car's underbody. While largely hidden
from view, these devices are the secret weapons in an arsenal of aerodynamic
features for generating downforce on racing cars.

Racing-Car Rear DiffusersPressure coefficient contours, where red is

high and blue is low

Affordable Diffuser Analysis Now

Are you ready for a 30-day free trial of Caedium Professional?

Downforce

Downforce is an essential ingredient in keeping a racing car glued to a racing

circuit, especially through corners. By using the motion of the car through the
surrounding air it is possible to induce a force perpendicular to the direction
of travel. In aircraft the force is directed upward to enable flight; in motor
racing the force is directed downward to press the car onto the race circuit.

Ground Effects

The origins of the rear diffuser can be traced back to the 1977 Lotus Type 78
F1 car conceived by Colin Chapman, Peter Wright and Tony Rudd. In a
brilliant example of lateral thinking the Lotus team applied the well known
"airplane in ground effect" principle (reduced drag) to a racing car and found
a significant increase in downforce with minimal increase in drag as a result.
By incorporating inverted (compared to an aircraft) airfoil sections into the
sidepods of their car, the era of ground effects in Formula 1 was ushered in. A
side skirt was connected to the edge of the sidepods and extended down to
the road surface. This skirt helped maintain 2D flow characteristics that
provide increased downforce and reduced drag compared to a typical 3D
wing. The side skirts also hid the new device from the prying eyes of
competitors.

The increased cornering speeds encouraged by the first generation of racing

car ground effects and the reliability of the side-skirt sealing with the ground
raised safety concerns that culminated in a near universal ban of side skirts
across all forms of motor sport. However, having had a taste of ground
effects, the racecar designers weren't ready to give them up.

Tunnels
Racecar aerodynamicists found that without side skirts it was still possible to
induce downforce by sculpting the underbody of a car into 2 tunnels either
side of the engine-gearbox assembly. The tunnels ideally start close to the
middle of the car, where the maximum downforce will be generated, and then
gradually rake upwards (between 4-14 degrees) towards the rear of the car.
The overall effect is similar to a venturi in that the air is first accelerated by
gradually decreasing the cross-sectional area and then decelerated back to its
original speed and pressure by gradually increasing the cross-sectional area.
At the highest velocity (smallest cross section) the lowest pressure is
produced according to Bernoulli's principle.

Venturi EffectAirflow through a venturi

The effect of such a tunnel on the air is similar to a diffuser. The air enters the
diffuser in a low-pressure, high-velocity state after accelerating under the car.
By gradually increasing the cross-sectional area of the diffuser, the air
gradually slows down and returns to its original free-stream speed and
pressure. The diffuser's aim is to decelerate the air without it separating from
the tunnel walls, which would cause a stall, reducing the downforce and
inducing a large drag force. By installing an inverted wing close to the diffuser
exit it is possible to create a low-pressure area, which essentially sucks the air
from the diffuser. The diffuser and wing combination permits a higher air-
mass-flow rate through the diffuser, thus resulting in higher downforce.
Sharp edges on the vertical tunnel walls generate vortices from entrained air
and help confine the air through the diffuser and reduce the chance it will
separate. Fully optimized tunnels are found on many closed-wheel racing cars
such as those used in the American Le-Mans Series.

American Le-Mans Series Car2005 Audi R8

License: CC BY 2.0, Mulsanne

Diffuser

Even so-called "flat bottomed" racing cars, such as those in F1, can create
significant downforce from a well-shaped small diffuser. Cars without scope
for a diffuser can still generate downforce from a slanted lower surface at the
rear of the car in combination with a rear wing.

If you want to investigate ground effects for yourself, try downloading and
viewing for free the following airflow simulations in Caedium:

Venturi effect
Racing-car rear diffusers