Front Wing

Aerodynamics
Report
ENG 3 127: Simulation Techniques
Project 1

Group 6
Name ID
Hassan Alajmi 20-0477
Hassan Al Mamari 18-0234
Mohamed Mahmoud 20-0480

Supervisor:
Dr. Ibrahim Deiab

Date of submission:
12/11/2023

All content and results of this paper are the intellectual property of its author and/or GUtech and may not be
reproduced, displayed, or distributed without permission.

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 Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................2
Design.............................................................................................................................3
Simulation......................................................................................................................4
Results............................................................................................................................ 7
Problems........................................................................................................................ 9
Importance of Ansys...................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................... 10
References.................................................................................................................... 11

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Introduction

In this project, we will be exploring Formula 1 car front wings and why they're
so important. We will be using special software, ANSYS, to simulate how air moves
over a front wing. We will be using a model from GrabCAD.

The front wing isn't just a car part; it's like the car's "face." It helps the car stick to the
track, go fast around corners, and keeps the engine cool. It is very well known that
front wings play a very important role in F1 races. Our project looks into how the
aerodynamics of the front wing works.

We start by downloading the front wing, create the right conditions inside a virtual
space, and then break the component into smaller pieces for analysis. We set up how
fast the air is moving, where it goes, and how the wing is shaped. The computer then
does many calculations to simulate how it all works. After that, we look at the results,
like how fast the air is moving and how much pressure there is. We then discuss the
problems we faced during our project and discuss the importance of using CAM
softwares in doing simulations.

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Design

Race engineers are constantly working to improve the front wing of Formula 1
cars because it has a big impact on how the car performs and handles. The front wing
does two important things: improving the downforce which pushes the car down onto
the track so it can go around corners with high speeds, and it helps control the airflow
over the car, which is important for keeping the car cool and making it go faster.
Moreover, making the front wing is a complex process. It starts with using computer
programs to design and test the wing. These programs help engineers figure out the
best shape for the wing to make the car go fast and handle well. They also check how
strong the wing needs to be to handle the forces during a race. Once they have the
right shape, engineers choose the materials for the wing. They often use materials like
carbon fiber with honeycomb cores to make the wing strong and stiff while keeping it
lightweight. They may also use metals like titanium and heat-resistant materials to
control the temperature distribution between the wing and other components. The
actual wing parts are made manually in a controlled environment. They layer the
carbon fiber parts and use a special kind of glue (epoxy resin) to hold them together.
This process is done by hand to make sure everything is in the right place. Then, they
bake the wing in an oven at a specific temperature and pressure. Finally, the wing goes
through some finishing touches and checks to make sure it works perfectly. This way,
they make sure the front wing helps the car go as fast as possible.

Simulation

To begin the simulation process, we start by downloading the component.

Then, we create an enclosure with the required geometry to set up the conditions
inside. Afterward, we perform meshing by selecting different element sizes to divide
the component into smaller pieces for analysis. The next step involves defining the
boundary conditions. This includes specifying the inlet with a particular velocity, the
outlet, any openings, and the front wing design and the lower part of enclosure as the
wall. Following the boundary setup, we move on to the solution phase. Here, the
program brings everything together and runs a series of 100 iterations to process the
simulation. Finally, we examine the results and apply specific parameters we want to
test, such as analyzing the distribution of velocity and pressure across the component.

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 Figures 1 & 2: 3 Dimensional View of the Wing

Figure 3: Front View Figure 4: Side View

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Figure 4: The Part After Meshing Figure 5: Applying the Boundary Conditions

Figure 6: Solving the simulation Figure 7: Simulation of Pressure Distribution

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Results
1. Comparing the Results of different mesh sizes with the same velocity

Figures 8 & 9: Pressure and velocity distribution with an element size of 0.175
and velocity of 120km/h

Figures 10 & 11: Pressure and Velocity distribution with an element size of
0.233 and Velocity of 120km/h

The results show a slight difference between the pressure and velocity values. That is
because of the element sizes. the smaller the element size, the more accurate the
results are. This is because the smaller element sizes cover a bigger part of the
component, therefore, providing more accurate results.

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 2. Comparing the Results of different velocities with the same element size

Figures 12 & 13: Pressure and Velocity distribution with an element size of
0.175 and velocity of 120km/h

Figures 14 & 15: Pressure and Velocity distribution with an element size
of 0.175 and velocity of 240km/h

As seen from the figures above, the airflow velocity and the difference in pressure
between the upper and the lower surface of the wing increases when the velocity of
the car increases. Both of these changes contribute in exerting bigger downforce
which gives better car handling allowing the car to be more stable and to take corners
with higher velocity.

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The following tables includes the summary of the results:

At 120km/h at different mesh size:

Mesh size # of # of Min Max Min Max

nodes elements velocity velocity pressure pressure
(m/s) (m/s) (Pa) (Pa)

0.175 m 874612 4537794 0.1331 82.92 -3650 615.1

0.23353 m 628395 3403326 0.1581 80.01 -3321 625.8

At 0.175 m mesh size and different speeds:

Velocity Min velocity Max velocity Min pressure Max pressure

(km/h) (m/s) (m/s) (Pa) (Pa)

120 0.1331 82.92 -3650 615.1

240 0.2390 165.7 -14470 2467

Problems

During our project we faced a lot of problems including the following:

1- The hardware of our laptops doesn’t keep up with ANSYS render
.
2- The limitation of a student version of ANSYS that has a limited number of
nodes in the mesh.

3- The ANSYS accepts specific files of format and not all the formats that are
accepted will work.

4- 80% of our suggested file ANSYS didn't accept the format or didn't work
because of Corrupted or Missing files and Geometry problems.

5 - The GrabCAD web page (server) crashes and doesn't allow downloading.

6- Surfaces don't merge if there is no contact between them and can't combine
them in a solid body causing mesh error.

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Importance of Ansys
A complex problem like this (doing an aerodynamics analysis of a front wing) cannot
be solved using hand calculations and this makes us realize the importance of CAM
softwares such as Ansys. The importance of CAM softwares such as Ansys can be
summarized as following:

Design Validation and Optimization: Before building physical prototypes,

engineers can test and validate their product designs in a virtual environment with
ANSYS. This helps optimize designs early in the development process and eliminates
the need for expensive and time-consuming physical testing.

Cross-Disciplinary Simulation: A variety of engineering disciplines, such as

thermal analysis, electromagnetics, fluid dynamics, structural analysis, and more, can
be simulated with ANSYS's tool suite. This makes it possible for engineers to run
multiphysics simulations that consider the interactions between several physical
processes.

Cost Savings: ANSYS can result in significant cost savings in product

development by lowering the quantity of physical prototypes and tests. It also aids in
the early detection of performance problems and design defects, preventing expensive
rework at a later stage of development.

Time Efficiency: By enabling quick design revisions and iterations, ANSYS

speeds up the product development process. Engineers can swiftly evaluate various
design scenarios and arrive at well-informed conclusions.

Conclusion
In conclusion, our project highlighted how important front wings are for
Formula 1 cars.

We downloaded a model from GrabCAD and performed a fluid flow simulation

(aerodynamics) on it . We found out that the smaller the mesh size, the more accurate
the simulation and the results.

We faced some challenges, like dealing with different kinds of computer files and
fixing problems with the front wing shape. But these challenges taught us to be careful
and find solutions. We also discovered the importance of CAD softwares in solving
these kinds of simulations as it would be hard to solve them using hand calculations.

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References

● Anderson, J. D. (2016). Fundamentals of aerodynamics (6th ed.). Columbus, OH:

McGraw-Hill Education.

● Hoffman, J., & Johnson, C. (2007). Computational turbulent incompressible flow

(2007th ed.) [PDF]. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-46533-1

● Regulations. Federation Internationale de l’Automobile. (n.d.).

https://www.fia.com/regulation/category/110

● Castro, Xabier & Rana, Zeeshan. (2020). Aerodynamic and Structural Design of a

2022 Formula One Front Wing Assembly. Fluids. 5. 237. 10.3390/fluids5040237.

● Rajput, R. K. (2006). Engineering Materials and Metallurgy. New Delhi, India: S

Chand.

● Van Valkenburgh, P. (1992). Race Car Engineering and Mechanics. New York, NY:

HP Books (automotive titles only).

● Genta, G. (2011). Introduction to the mechanics of space robots (2012th ed.) [PDF].

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-1796-1

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