Determine your track advantage before the tires are even on the vehicle...

Race Car Aerodynamics

Race car performance is measured by speed, lap-times, and driver rankings.  But the foundation of these metrics is the engineering of the car, including engine, suspension, and body design.  Aerodynamics and air-flow management plays a vital role in every aspect of vehicle engineering, and balance is required between aerodynamic drag, down force, lift balance, lateral force and moment, and cooling flow rates for the engine and brakes.

PowerFLOW fits into the rapidly-changing environment of racing by providing a broad range of data, along with flow visualization, which can be used to tune the vehicle design for optimal performance.  Dependence on ride heights, vehicle speed, wheel positions, and cross-wind or slip angles are computed by simulating key points on the track circuit.  Effect of aerodynamic tuning and design choices can be evaluated at these conditions which will actually be experienced on the track. 

A common factor among various race cars and high-performance vehicles is that aerodynamic devices such as wings, splitter plates, spoilers, and underbody ground effects are used to capture high pressure on the upper surfaces of the vehicle and to create suction on lower surfaces.  These devices often produce highly transient flow features such as vortices and wakes, that must be well-understood in order to tune the vehicle shape.  PowerFLOW’s inherently transient simulation approach provides both accuracy and a valuable tool for understanding the time-dependent flow structure.  Insight into the aerodynamic behavior leads to ideas for improvement, and ultimately to reduced lap-times.

Cooling Performance

Race vehicles offer a range of airflow management challenges.  Diverting flow to cool the high-performance engine and brakes has associated cost in vehicle drag and down force.  PowerFLOW’s thermal management capabilities provides a unified approach to optimizing shape, cooling paths, and heat exchanger or brake-cooling performance.