Aerodynamics cars

By: Paiman Parmaei

What does aerodynamic means?

• Aerodynamics is the study of moving gases (in this case air) over a body in motion, and how that airflow will affect the body's movement through the flow. car aerodynamics make the car more safer and make it more fuel efficient. It is used in most of the cars today specially in race cars because there is more need of aerodynamics in high speeds cars.

Aerodynamics History• Aerodynamics has played an important role in

car racing since the late 1960s, when introduction of the first inverted wings appeared in some formulas. After that time, improved wing systems taken from the aeronautic technology made leaps forward, improving consistently lap times, increasing cornering speeds and vehicle stability. With the introduction of the ground effect a few years later the vehicles used a third element (the under body) to produce down force, and hence improve the performances.

wing

wing

What is the down force.

• The term down force describes the downward pressure created by the aerodynamic characteristics of a car that allows it to travel faster through a corner by holding the car to the track or road surface. However it also inverses friction between the tires and the road surface, thus decreasing maximum velocity.

• It’s a force which arises due to the airflow over and below the car, which act vertically downward on the car.

Cars can generate lift if designed poorly.

Aerodynamics in F1

• Aerodynamics is the single most important aspect of F1 car design. It defined not only the entire shape of the car, but also the positioning of all items within it, like the engine, gearbox and driver.

Front wing effect on aerodynamics of a F1 car

The front wing is important because it is the first part of the car that makes contact with the air.

It affects the airflow in the full length of the car and even tiny changes can have huge effects on the overall performance.

Front wing is one of the elements that is used for down force because it creates high pressure area on top and hence large amount of down force.

Rear Wing

• The rear wing helps glue the rear wheels to the track, but it also can hugely increases drag (air residence against the body of the car). But designers are constantly working to use as little angle of incidence on the rear wing as possible without harming overall performance.

Diffuser

»The diffuser, or floor, is designed to ensure the smoothest exit for the air that is flowing under the car. Designers come up with a huge variety of complicated shapes because the quicker the air exits, the more down force the car generates, and the faster it will be.  

BARGE BOARDS

Barge boards, or turning vanes, smooth out and separate the air that has been disrupted by the front wheels. They separate the flow into two parts - one is directed into the side pods to cool the engine; the other is diverted outside to reduce drag.

Here are things that can be done to reduce your vehicle's drag (air resistance):

http://www.recumbents.com/car_aerodynamics/

1. Make the shape of the car so that air flow together smoothly towards the end of the car

2.Reduce the frontal area of the car by minimizing the grill making sure that windscreen is as flat as possible.

3.Cover the wheels.

•Overall the use of the aerodynamic devices greatly increases the performance of a car. The trick is to be able generate just the right amount of down force while keeping drag to a minimum.

• Nissan Maxima 1998 before & after aerodynamics changes.

Thank you

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