Honors Theses

Advisor

Markus P. Rumpfkeil, Ph.D.

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Publication Date

7-18-2023

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Abstract

For the 2022 Formula One (F1) season, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) introduced a new set of technical regulations that reduce the complexity of the aerodynamic devices such as the spoilers, often called wings. The objective of this regulation change is to reduce the amount of turbulence produced, which should allow the cars to trail behind one another closer and make for easier overtaking, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the sport. The present study evaluates and quantifies the aerodynamic performance of a 2022 F1 car by using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analyses. Both a study of a 2022 specification rear wing and a 2021 specification rear wing are assessed to determine how the new technical regulations affect the turbulence in the wake of the car. The study is performed by taking cut planes in the fluid domain downstream of the F1 rear wing models and integrating turbulent kinetic energy across the planes to quantify the turbulence in the wake. With this analysis, a comparison between the 2022 and 2021 specification rear wings can be performed to determine the magnitude of impact the new technical regulations produce. From this, a conclusion could be made regarding the effectiveness of the 2022 F1 technical regulations, and whether the regulation change was justified.

Permission Statement

This item is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and may only be used for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly purposes.

Keywords

Undergraduate research

Download

Share

COinS