CFD Analysis in Research and Development of Racing Car

Wind tunnel test has been playing a major role in the research and development (R&D) for a racing car. With the aid of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation the development cycle and overall cost are greatly reduced while new and creative ideas can be easily tested on virtual platform with accuracy. In this paper a general overview of the racing vehicle R&D process is provided and a CFD simulation and analysis for a 50% scaled car model is presented in sufficient detail, with an emphasis on addressing its aerodynamic aspects. Good agreements are obtained with a ±5% error between the simulation results and wind tunnel measurements.