Title: Application of smart flap for race car wings

Authors: Mohamad Hassan Djavareshkian; Ali Esmaeli

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. ' Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract: A pressure-based implicit procedure is due to solve Navier-Stokes equations. A non-orthogonal mesh with collocated finite volume formulation is used to simulate flow around the smart and conventional flaps of airfoil under the ground effect. Cantilever beam with uniformly varying load with roller support at the free end is considered for smart flaps. The boundedness criteria for this procedure are determined by a normalised variable diagram (NVD) scheme. The procedure incorporates the k-ε eddy-viscosity turbulence model. The method is first validated against experimental data. Then, the SIMPLE algorithm is applied for turbulent aerodynamic flows around airfoil with smart and conventional flaps for different attack angle, flap angle and ground clearance where the results of two flaps are compared. It is found that the pressure coefficient distribution in a smart flap is smoother than a conventional one. The comparisons show that the quality of the solution is considerable.

Keywords: smart airfoils; ground effect; race car flaps; aerodynamic coefficients; race cars; racing cars; racing car wings; flow simulation; turbulence modelling; aerodynamic flows; vehicle aerodynamics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAD.2012.046532

International Journal of Aerodynamics, 2012 Vol.2 No.1, pp.66 - 92

Received: 22 Oct 2010
Accepted: 31 Jan 2011
Published online: 30 Oct 2014 *

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