Spectral/hp element simulation of flow past a Formula One front wing: Validation against experiments

• Published in: Journal of wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics Vol. 221; p. 104832
• Main Authors: Buscariolo, Filipe F., Hoessler, Julien, Moxey, David, Jassim, Ayad, Gouder, Kevin, Basley, Jeremy, Murai, Yushi, Assi, Gustavo R.S., Sherwin, Spencer J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2022
• Subjects: Aerodynamics; Computational fluid dynamics; Continuous Galerkin method; High-fidelity spectral; High-fidelity spectral/hp elements method; hp elements method; Implicit large eddy simulation; Aerodynamics; Implicit large eddy simulation; Computational fluid dynamics; High-fidelity spectral/hp elements method; Continuous Galerkin method
• ISSN: 0167-6105; 1872-8197; 1872-8197
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jweia.2021.104832

Emerging commercial and academic tools are regularly being applied to the design of road and race cars, but there currently are no well-established benchmark cases to study the aerodynamics of race car wings in ground effect. In this paper we propose a new test case, with a relatively complex geometry, supported by the availability of CAD model and experimental results. We refer to the test case as the Imperial Front Wing, originally based on the front wing and endplate design of the McLaren 17D race car. A comparison of different resolutions of a high fidelity spectral/hp element simulation using under-resolved DNS/implicit LES approach with fourth and fifth polynomial order is presented. The results demonstrate good correlation to both the wall-bounded streaklines obtained by oil flow visualization and experimental PIV results, correctly predicting key characteristics of the time-averaged flow structures, namely intensity, contours and locations. This study highlights the resolution requirements in capturing salient flow features arising from this type of challenging geometry, providing an interesting test case for both traditional and emerging high-fidelity simulations. •High-fidelity iLES CFD simulation on a complex geometry.•Formula 1 geometry.•Experimental and high-end CFD studies.•Newly proposed standard test case.•Spectral/hp element method.