F1 IN SCHOOLS Competition to Promote STEM: Aerodynamic Investigation of Miniature F1 IN SCHOOLS Car

Abstract

The F1 IN SCHOOLS competition was established to attract students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as early as in secondary school. The application of aerodynamics is one of the important aspects to be studied. There are two elements that must be considered in the analysis that can affect the aerodynamic performance of the car in terms of the maximum velocity, namely, the drag coefficient and the downforce coefficient. Since the velocity of the F1 IN SCHOOLS car is mainly related to its aerodynamic design, therefore, the design of the diffuser and side pot components of the F1 IN SCHOOLS car must be considered. The objective of this paper was to study the effect of different designs of the side pot and diffuser in order to produce a low drag coefficient while maintaining an adequate downforce coefficient. The study was conducted using the STAR CCM+ software to run the simulations. The aim of this study was to produce an F1 IN SCHOOLS car that meets two important criteria, namely, a low drag coefficient and an adequate downforce coefficient.