Development of a 3D CFD Model for the Simulation of a Formula SAE Car during Cornering

Sammanfattning

In this thesis work, the development of a CFD model for the evaluation of the aerodynamicperformances of a Formula Student race car in cornering is presented. Theproject begins with the renovation of the straight-line condition pre-processing workflow,with the intent of increasing the accuracy of the results compared to the previousmodel. This approach exploits an isolated front-wing model, enabling faster analysis ofthe effects of meshing parameters on overall mesh quality and solution. Then, a comparisonbetween wall-function and wall-resolved meshes is conducted to understand thediscrepancies between them. To conclude the renovation process, the model is validatedusing wind-tunnel data, showing a more coherent behavior with respect to the experimentalvalues than the previous model, though with room for further improvementsin accuracy. Finally, the new model is applied to the cornering setup, which uses acake-shaped domain to simulate the cornering car by applying a rotational frame of reference.The results of the cornering model are then compared with a yawed-car modelto identify differences in aerodynamic forces and the flow structure around the car.