CFD fine tunes Benetton Formula 1 aerodynamics

Mild Seven Benetton Renault Sport is using Star-CD CFD software to gain a better insight into the flow field around the cars than has been achieved in the past through wind tunnel measurements

The public's perception of Formula One Racing is one of fast cars, champagne cocktails and glamour.

Beneath this glossy veneer is a sport in which innovation has become the status quo and seemingly insignificant design changes lead to major wins.

F1 cars are complicated creatures.

They have over 4,500 components, can be modified by up to 70 per cent throughout the season and can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour in the time it takes to read this sentence; there can be no room for error.

CAD/CAM systems have already had an impact on the way most F1 companies work.

Timesavings have been immense and accuracy - all-important in a sport where millimetres make a difference -has been improved to get more consistent performances from the cars throughout the season.

Aerodynamics is a major consideration in the design and development of F1 cars and within this field CFD is the new kid on the block.

In recent years leading F1 teams have been racing to get aerodynamic design improvement through whole-car CFD simulations.

Mild Seven Benetton Renault Sport is using Star-CD from the CD Adapco Group to gain a better insight into the flow field around the cars than has been achieved in the past through wind tunnel measurements.

Being able to modify the cars, try out new ideas and test its performance in a range of situations without actually building it, is clearly a bonus when each prototype can cost millions.

F1 at Benetton Formula 1 is a serious business; hard work, miles of endless testing and hours spent hunched over analysis screens comparing data.

Benetton F1's design engineers are using Star-CD to 'fine tune' the aerodynamics of its racecars.

"The decision to use Star-CD was relatively simple," says Dr Matthew Laight, Head of CFD at Benetton Formula 1.

He continues: "Choosing Star-CD gave us a totally integrated solution and meant that we could use one suite of software to do the whole analysis.

The CD adapco Group's approach was also very helpful and a considerable influence on our decision.

There was a high level of personal contact which made the process of optimising design details as painless as possible." The Star-CD software suite includes a number of applications-specific pre- and post-processing systems, called EZ tools.

For its aerodynamic calculations Benetton Formula 1 chose EZAero which enabled the geometry of the CAD model to be imported and a tailored CFD mesh to be built automatically.

Thanks to scalable parallel computing, large-scale simulations can typically be completed overnight.

By building up fine mesh layers with Star-CD from the CAD surface, an incredibly high flow resolution can be achieved.

For example the flow for the leading edge of a Benetton front wing can be accurately resolved to within 1 millimetre, giving designers a level of accuracy that was unimaginable just ten years ago.

This state of the art meshing flexibility is not only suited to the team's needs for detailed geometrical modelling, but also allows F1 design engineers to perform whole car CFD simulation, leaving nothing to chance.

For instance, if you analysed the rear wing assembly on its own, the airflow approaching the wings would be far too uniform.

In this case, the upstream part of the car needs to be included to produce the correct velocity distribution at the rear wing, therefore leading to a more accurate prediction of downforce at the rear wing.

The tiniest adaptations can have enormous repercussions on the car's performance.

Precision is always the main priority, even if a change seems minor the effect on the flow can be considerable.

Star-CD also allows additional aspects to be included in the model, such as introducing hot air coming from the exhaust or cooling air flowing through the radiator.

This approach to high-resolution CFD simulation provides results that capture the car's aerodynamic flow field in extreme detail, including the effects of wheel motion or the thermal effect of the cooling air leaving the engine bay.

Dr Matthew Laight says "Tools like Star-CD allow the designers to concentrate on the creative aspects of design without getting bogged down with the donkey work of producing data or drawings.

Basically it means that we can produce a better car in the time that's available." He continues: "Ten years ago if you had asked an F1 aerodynamicist what they would like for Christmas the answer would have almost certainly been, 'some kind of x-ray specs which would let me see the airflow around the car.' In essence, this is what the CD adapco Group have given us with Star-CD.".

Back to top