Pt.1: INTRO
My fusion final project is a modification of the standard F1 2022 regulation floor design, with utilizations of engine suction to divert airflows under the floor of a F1 car. I made a CAD model of the vehicle and used CFD software to model the alterations. In this journey, there were a lot of difficulties, change in directions, and, in the end, surprises. As a result, I have learned a lot from these experiences and will reflect on these moments in my future work.
Pt.2: STORYLINE
The beginning of the story of my fusion project was at the end of my Grade 9 year, when I bought a W11 f1 RC car with my friend. I looked at the car, and thought about the large suction force generated from the engine; instantly, I realized that if this flow of air could be utilized, it could greatly enhance car performance. As a result, I drew a series of designs surrounding the positioning and functionalities of the design – I never knew that I would have the platform to make and share this design with many others in Fusion. As time progresses, I did more research in F1 mechanics and aerodynamic functions. I found out about the Venturi effect deployed for the floor and the equations surrounding flow and aerodynamics that can be used to model airflow under the floor. I made estimations on the amount of downforce increase that the suction will cause using Bernoulli’s equation, assuming that the suction would cause more flow volume and thus higher speeds for airflow under the floor of the F1 car, generating more downforce. I made a 3D model for testing and sought help in modeling my design with physics equations. However, all the responses were that it was difficult to model using mathematics and physics equations, and that wind tunnel testing will be more optimal. Thus, I started designing a wind tunnel based on the assumption that if I 3D print the body I do not have to pay for the expensive prices of a wind tunnel. However, I then discovered that the reason why wind tunnels are expensive is the fan, not necessarily the body. I looked into the pricing and none of them in the acceptable pricing range were capable of creating a enough wind speed in a large enough tunnel that was necessary for me to obtain enough data. This caused me to then pivot again into using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Knowing nothing about CFD, I had to learn everything from scratch, and was eventually able to learn how to use Simscale software to simulate the effects of my design on downforce and drag. Then, when I got the results, they shook me; instead of increasing downforce, the downforce of the design dropped dramatically and the drag also decreased, almost the exact opposite of what I expected. This was due to my incorrect assumptions – the air flow at the bottom of the car decreased instead of increased, resulting in a decreased downforce and drag. However, I chose to be flexible and pivoted yet again; now, instead of deploying the system in corners, it could instead by deployed in the straights. A final surprise also struck me, where I found out that the unstable downforce of the floor of the F1 car, causing instability in F1 cars at the start of the 2022 season, was gone after the deployment of the design, increasing stability in the straights. The drag of the car was also decreased by 300 newtons, nearly 30% of the total drag produced by the floor. Then I finalized my design and outlined its benefits – it can decrease drag and downforce, decrease tire wear as less stress is put onto the tires due to a lower downforce, increase fuel economy as less drag means less fuel used, and increase speeds in the straights as restraining forces such as drag and downforce are decreased.
Pt.3: MISTAKES & REVISION
The mistakes I made were pretty obvious – I assumed too much. Instead of finding enough evidence and physical proof of the concept, I delve into the project directly and gambled that it would work. I was lucky that it did have good effects, despite being ones that I was not expecting. However, learning from past experiences, I chose to take the results with a grain of salt; this design could decrease engine power when activated, and the numbers generated with the CFD could be inaccurate. As a result, I will not be fully confident with the results until I test the model in a wind tunnel or a fluid simulations lab. I am also lucky that I started the project early, as that meant that I had enough time to pivot and change direction before the final due date, contributing significantly to the success of this project.
Pt.4: TAKING IT FURTHER
I will do more research on the effects of the venturi tunnel and also attempt to model the effects of my system with physics equations to compare to the results of the CFD. I will also attempt to take it to a wind tunnel or another kind of testing facility in formula university teams, and I am already beginning to establish contact and reach out. The final goal is to apply this design onto race cars of any scale or to any road cars.
Pt.5: RESOURCES
- Link to CAD model of F1 2022 floor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DS6NB-sJysyyMGXglS91eaG-z_J4wxU3/view?usp=sharing
- Link to CFD: https://www.simscale.com/workbench/?pid=2486750075782053365&rru=6108f71a-bc58-4348-a8ee-10ecb678f8d8&ci=305a9906-9198-499c-abf8-32a8feeb071f&mt=SIMULATION_RESULT&ct=SOLUTION_FIELD
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