Computational fluid dynamics analysis for an active rear-wing design to improve cornering speed for a high-performance car

Abstract

The aim of the study is to numerically analyze the active rear wing and select the optimum combination of an airfoil(s) to improve the cornering speed of a Mustang GT 2017 high-performance car. Rear wings are used in sports cars to create downforce and more traction without increasing the car weight to keep it stable on the ground during turns and to prevent slipping and rolling. Using the concept of Lateral Load Transfer (LLT), the downforce required to stabilize the vehicle's unbalance while cornering at selected speeds was calculated. The NACA 6412 airfoil was chosen due to its high coefficient of lift with respect to the angle of attack and thus can generate more downforce. Further, a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis has been performed using Ansys Fluent to estimate the coefficient of lift for selected airfoil combinations in an active and passive state. The viscous SST k-Omega solver has been used in simulation with different angles of attack and chord lengths of the airfoil. On comparing the results, the optimum combination of an airfoil(s) was selected to increase the cornering speed sufficiently.