What Are the Best Simple Front Wing Designs for Single-Seater Cars?

  • Context: Automotive 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Ed1991
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Discussion Overview

The discussion focuses on the design and optimization of simple front wings for single-seater cars, specifically seeking alternatives to complex F1 designs. Participants explore categories of cars that utilize simpler wing designs, the types of airfoils used, and the balance between downforce and drag in wing performance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks examples of cars with simple front wing designs, specifically biplane wings with minimal curvature.
  • Another participant notes the variety of wing designs across different racing categories, emphasizing the balance between downforce and drag, and suggests looking into IndyCar and Le Mans designs.
  • A suggestion is made to explore historical designs, particularly from the 1968 Formula 1 season, which featured simpler wings added to existing chassis.
  • Concerns are raised about the choice of airfoil shapes, with one participant questioning the benefits of using convex surfaces over concave ones to reduce drag while affecting downforce.
  • Participants mention the availability of CFD codes and university resources for airfoil analysis as potential avenues for further research.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the best approaches to wing design, with no consensus on specific airfoil types or the effectiveness of different wing shapes. The discussion remains open-ended with multiple competing views.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexity of wing design and the influence of various factors such as car type, speed, and racing conditions, which may affect the applicability of different designs.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in automotive engineering, aerodynamics, and racing design may find this discussion relevant.

Ed1991
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Hi to all the members,
I have to consider the front wing car of a single-seater car and then optemize it. I want to consider a simple front wing not like those of F1 because they are too complicate to analyze.
I want to consider a simple one (biplane) with not strong variation of curvature.
Can someone of you indicate me a category of car that have this wing car characteristc?

Then i would want to know where i can find the project with the specification of the front wing car, because i can't find anything on the internet, and i need them to design it.

Finally i would want to know what type of airfoils are used in this type of problem. I don't think they use NACA airfoils.

Thanks to all the users and sorry for my bad english.
 
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There are as many wing designs as there are cars on which they are deployed. It's a balance between downward force and drag, and the application with depend on the car design. One can look at many designs besides F1, e.g., IndyCar, or Lemans types.

The foil design can be simple or complex depending on function, e.g., vertical stability and lateral stability, based on the type of racing and speed.

Complex indeed - http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/10/8182193/indycar-honda-indy-car-aero-chevrolet-design

Consider the consequences of an anomaly or perurbation - http://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/peter-dumbreck-remembers-1999_7141.html

The suppliers of CFD codes probably have examples of airfoil analysis, and one may find various analyses through university programs.
http://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/ir/bitstream/1840.16/7256/1/etd.pdf

One can search on the internet with "airfoil cfd"
 
How much time do you have?
 
Do a web search for 1968 Formula 1 wing. This was the first year that wings were allowed on Formula 1 cars, and almost all of them simply added front and rear wings via struts to existing or similar 1967 non-downforce car chassis. Those are probably the simplest of wings. I don't think the actual airfoil is going to make much difference, since the downforce can be adjusted by adjusting the downwards angle of attack, so the main difference would be the downforce versus drag ratio, and I suspect that difference is small when comparing the type of wings used on those cars.
 
One question is always raised in my mind, that instead of using concave surface for aerofoil section won't it be beneficial to use convex surface which will reduce drag, ultimately affecting lesser on downward force on the wings
 

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