Experiments and Numerical Investigation on a Multi-Component Airfoil Employed in a Racing Car Wing

A systematic investigation using both numerical and experimental techniques has been performed on a multi-component airfoil (SB 96-1) section of the wing mounted on the ALFA ROMEO 155 ITC racing car. The main goal of this activity is to build an extensive experimental database in order to validate a set of numerical tools to use in the design loop of racing car wings. A Navier-Stokes and a Viscous/Inviscid Interaction (VII) based codes were used as aerodynamic characteristics prediction tools. Particular attention was paid to the problems encountered during the experiments relative to highly loaded wing at low Reynolds numbers. Some technical tunnel problems did not allow to complete the whole programmed test campaign, and then only some of the scheduled tests will be reported in the paper.