ACADEMIC

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Driven to Simulation
A teenage student helps improve the aerodynamic design of F1 race cars using ANSYS software and Windows high performance computing.
By Eric Tierling, Freelance Writer, Germany and Shane Moeykens, Strategic Partnership Manager, ANSYS, Inc.

What began as a hobby for enthusiasts who pioneered road racing in France in the 1890s has evolved into a professional sport attracting millions of followers around the globe. Grand Prix racing now takes place in Europe, the Asian Pacific rim, the Middle East, South America and the United States, with one of the most successful series being Formula One (F1). The passion associated with F1 racing has grown beyond the teams, drivers and technicians who are personally involved with the sport. Broadcast to countries worldwide, each of the 17 races in the 2007 season was watched by an average of 597 million viewers. Milad Mafi, a teenage student in Germany, has followed Formula One racing since childhood, and is much more than a regular fan. Although only 16 years old, he is already skilled at optimizing the aerodynamic design of F1 race cars with the aid of high performance computing (HPC) on the Windows platform.

Aerodynamic Computations Milad started watching Formula One TV broadcasts as a child and loved racing maneuvers such as passing. Over time, however, he realized like many others that these thrilling moments were becoming rarer, and today are close to extinction. In modern F1 racing, changes in position most

often take place during pit stops, which have become part of the race strategy. A reason for the the decreasing number of passing maneuvers can be found in safety regulations imposed by the governing body, the Fdration Internationale de lAutomobile (FIA), and the resulting changes to the aerodynamics of modern F1 race car designs. In the 1980s, road grip was derived primarily from wide tires. With a shift to narrower tires, aerodynamic grip which depends on several factors including the intensity of air turbulence has become a much more important factor than the mechanical grip provided by the tires. The external aerodynamics of modern Formula One cars produce a downward force of

Pressure contours on the surface of a classic 1980s F1 race car

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roughly 25,000 Newtons (N), which corresponds to a gravitational force of 2.5 metric tons. Maintaining laminar air flow across the wings and body of an F1 car is an ideal that is not realized in practice. Turbulence and eddies form around bluff components of a car body and trail behind the moving car, reducing efficiency. The wings of an F1 car may fail to fulfill their design function in some highly turbulent flow conditions, producing little or no downward force while creating significant resistance. This necessitates that drivers reduce their curve speed and curve acceleration, making it nearly impossible to execute a passing maneuver on the track.

More Passing Excitement Driven by his disappointment in the decreasing number of passing maneuvers, Milad started to research the problem. Where other teenagers prefer to play football, he examined the design and aerodynamic behavior of F1 race cars an exciting challenge for a boy who programmed his first computer-aided design (CAD) solution when he was just 11 years old. There are two primary approaches for exploring the aerodynamic behavior of an F1 race car: using a wind tunnel or performing fluids simulation. Efficiency, visualization capabilities and accuracy not to mention the financial savings make simulation analysis an excellent option. With the aid of Microsoft and ANSYS, Milad turned to an industry standard PC servers for high performance computing. He was able to investigate turbulence effects and the design modifications necessary to make passing maneuvers on the track easier. Microsofts Compute Cluster Server 2003 (predecessor of the current Windows HPC Server 2008) provided an effective HPC software platform capable of performing complex flow simulations. Working with a Microsoft HPC partner, Milad received access to a Windows HPC Server cluster having more than 250 CPUs all tied together with the Microsoft HPC solution. For the flow analysis, he used

The interaction between the rear wing and diffuser leads to a decrease in total pressure behind an F1 race car.

FLUENT software from ANSYS, the same technology that many Formula One teams also rely upon. By using this combination, Milad had a powerful simulation platform for his aerodynamic experiments. In addition, he took advantage of the comprehensive support provided by Microsoft and ANSYS, allowing him to obtain answers quickly and concentrate on his work. With the Windows HPC platform and FLUENT software, he could analyze the problematic components of F1 race cars and avoid costintensive and time-consuming physical tests. Milad had the discipline to first investigate the components of interest wings, diffuser, bargeboards, etc. in 2-D before moving to 3-D calculations. After weeks of intense computations, his results indicated that the winglets and the lower rear wing element, which interact with the diffuser, produce significant turbulence. Although it might seem simple, this observation could influence the aerodynamic design of modern F1 racing cars and yield better passing capabilities.

An optimized F1 race car design based on Milads research

Windows HPC Enhances Racing Excitement Trying to keep F1 racing exciting without compromising safety, the FIA constantly makes rule changes aimed at increasing the ability of cars to overtake each other. One approach for achieving better passing capabilities might build on Milads research and the resulting design optimizations he performed on the front wing, rear wing, diffuser and bargeboards. Given the fact that F1 race teams make significant investment in improving performance, it is not surprising that Milad has already been in contact with several Formula One teams. As a result, the next time you watch an F1 race, you might see car designs that have been influenced by Milads observations. s

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