Aerodynamics of an inverted wing in ground effect: the influence of cornering

The aerodynamic performance of the front wing of a Formula 1 car becomes more critical when cornering, but wind tunnel techniques are typically limited to the straight-line condition. The present thesis aims at investigating the influence of cornering on the aerodynamics of an inverted wing in ground effect through numerical simulations performed using a RANS model. After a theoretical background, the validation of the numerical model against available experimental results is performed by means of straight-line simulations. The wing considered in the research is an 80% scale model of the front wing of the Tyrrell 026 Formula 1 car, in single-element configuration, when steady-state cornering around a constant radius turn. In cornering-flow conditions, the front wing will typically be in a yawed condition and at the same time will experience the flow curvature. Therefore, the changes affected by cornering, i.e. the yaw angle and the flow curvature, are considered first in isolation and then combined in order to give a realistic condition. This results in three different simulation cases. The objective of the analysis is to understand how the aerodynamic behavior of the wing changes when cornering. To this purpose, a CFD simulation is performed for each cornering case. The presented results show how the pressure distribution over the wing surfaces and the endplates varies in the presence of a yaw angle and a velocity gradient due to the flow curvature. Then, the aerodynamic force and moment coefficients acting on the wing are reported and compared to those in the straight-line case. Finally, the results show how the cornering-flow conditions influence the wing vortices and their downstream trajectory.