Spectral/hp element simulation of flow past a Formula One front wing: validation against experiments

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new benchmark case for race car wing aerodynamics, validating high-fidelity spectral/hp element simulations against experimental data, and highlighting resolution needs for complex geometries.

Contribution

It presents a novel complex geometry test case for aerodynamic validation and compares spectral/hp element simulation results with experimental observations.

Findings

Good correlation between simulations and experiments in flow structures

Resolution impacts accuracy of flow feature capture

Validated spectral/hp method for complex race car wing aerodynamics

Abstract

Emerging commercial and academic tools are regularly being applied to the design of road and race cars, but there currently are no well-established benchmark cases to study the aerodynamics of race car wings in ground effect. In this paper we propose a new test case, with a relatively complex geometry, supported by the availability of CAD model and experimental results. We refer to the test case as the Imperial Front Wing, originally based on the front wing and endplate design of the McLaren 17D race car. A comparison of different resolutions of a high fidelity spectral/hp element simulation using under-resolved DNS/implicit LES approach with fourth and fifth polynomial order is presented. The results demonstrate good correlation to both the wall-bounded streaklines obtained by oil flow visualization and experimental PIV results, correctly predicting key characteristics of the time-averaged flow structures, namely intensity, contours and locations. This study highlights the resolution requirements in capturing salient flow features arising from this type of challenging geometry, providing an interesting test case for both traditional and emerging high-fidelity simulations.