Aerodynamics and Possible Alleviation of Top Fuel Dragster ‘Blow Over’

962519

12/01/1996

Event
Motorsports Engineering Conference & Exposition
Authors Abstract
Content
During a high-speed drag race a race-car nose may accidentally be lifted by the aerodynamic loads causing the dangerous ‘Blow Over’ phenomenon. Such aerodynamic loads were investigated for a wide range of pitch angles in small-scale wind-tunnel tests, using a Top-Fuel Dragster model. A simple device, creating negative vortex lift, was proposed and tested in an effort to reduce the pitch up moments during the initial phases of the ‘Blow Over’. Results of the wind tunnel tests indicate that when deploying the proposed device, immediately after the front wheel liftoff, alleviation of the ‘Blow Over’ is possible.
Meta TagsDetails
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4271/962519
Pages
5
Citation
Katz, J., "Aerodynamics and Possible Alleviation of Top Fuel Dragster ‘Blow Over’," SAE Technical Paper 962519, 1996, https://doi.org/10.4271/962519.
Additional Details
Publisher
Published
Dec 1, 1996
Product Code
962519
Content Type
Technical Paper
Language
English