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Race
car aeronautics design needs a 'holistic' approach. Cooling, down
force, drag all need to be considered. Air pressure at the front
of the car and the rear of the car are both important in influencing
air flow through the car.
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Here are some of our goals:
- Cool
the motors and controllers with air flow through the stock radiator.
- Cool
the battery pack with air flow through the battery packs, in effect,
turning them into radiators
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- Reduce
drag and increase down force with a smooth floor pan and rear
diffuser.
- Reducing
drag and encourage air flow through the radiators by allowing
the high pressure air at the front of the car to go into the radiator
- Reduce
drag and encourage air flow through the radiators by exhaust air
into the low pressure zone behind the car.
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Air
dam 2.0
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We
start by redoing the front air dam.
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The
main goal here is too open up the blockage to the radiator and smooth
out air flow. We use a cutting wheel to trim the bumper beam and
then a hole saw to remove weight while still maintaining some of
the strength. The bottom plate is replaced and angle aluminum riveted
into place to create a smooth curve.
We
add a small vertical lip to try and keep air off the front of our
wide racing tires.
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To
create the surface of the air dam, we take a pre-made .023 inch
thick Carbon Fiber sheet (from the Robot
Market Place) and rivet the material into place. If the unsupported
area was any greater, we would have to use a thicker material. Working
carefully with a heat gun (for bending) and scissors, we are able
to get a tight fit.
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We
end up with a lower opening that is 7 inches tall by 29 inches wide
(203 square inches). We also still have the upper opening which
is 4 inches by 28 inches (112 square inches).
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Rear
Aero 2.0
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To
create air flow through the radiators, the air has to have somewhere
to go.
The
opening at the rear of the car is not large enough to assure proper
air flow. It is a space of 1.5 inch tall by 44 inches across (66
square inches) directly above the diffuser.
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remove the rear bumper and start cutting. Again we are able to remove
a fair amount of weight while still keeping some strength. We increase
the opening to about 4.5 inches while maintaining the 44 inch width
(198 square inches). |
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the trunk, we build a cover to direct the air coming from the battery
pack out through the new opening. |
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