The field of automotive design and development is constantly evolving, embracing the latest technologies and best practices. This dynamic environment extends its influence beyond automotive into the realm of motorsport.
TotalSim, an Ohio-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) consultant, is utilising technological advancements across industries, especially with respect to aerodynamics and racing.
‘Aerodynamics now plays a role from the top of the motorsports food chain with NASCAR and F1 down to grassroots racing,’ says TotalSim president Ray Leto.
‘There’s been an explosion of information in the past few years that’s allowed these technologies to not be exclusively for top level racing. This has enhanced not only the importance of doing aerodynamics, but the power of doing it well.’
Both physical testing on-track and wind tunnel testing are commonly used to analyse aerodynamics. While still recognising the importance of these techniques and incorporating them, TotalSim believes it has found the perfect recipe for quicker aerodynamic testing at a cheaper cost.
The magic ingredient? CFD. Computational fluid dynamics is a branch of fluid mechanics that employs numerical analysis to predict fluid flow digitally.
Advances in computing power have made CFD a valuable complement to physical testing and, in some instances, a replacement. CFD enables engineers to anticipate fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, chemical reactions, and other flow characteristics by solving fluid flow equations.
The end result of CFD is data, specifically the data of ‘what could be.’ Digital modelling and simulation allow for the input of real-world variables or potential variables to create detailed maps of a vehicle. These maps are used to understand how the vehicle will perform under a multitude of scenarios and/or with various modifications.
This data is easily repeatable, for instance allowing a team to understand its car in unmatched ways and giving it the power to take what it already has and make optimisations.
This process is one of the main things that TotalSim’s co-founder, Naethan Eagles, will be diving deeper into during his seminar at the upcoming PRI Show in Indianapolis. He will focus on the ways in which digital wind tunnel testing can improve lap time while lowering research and development costs.
When he goes into the benefits of this testing, it’s important to recognise that it wasn’t long ago when this technology was too…
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