FIRST LOOK: Formula 1’s 2021 car in the wind tunnel

[Wass85]

Will they continue the research on a pair of actual cars on track to validate their wind tunnel results?

The mule can be a pair of formula 2 cars built by dallara

That's what I've been thinking for a good while now, surely they have built a few prototypes and tried a bit of wheel to wheel racing to confirm whether racing will be better or not?

[FW17]

With the flow under the tunnel being motioned as complex, how do teams visualize the flow?

Do they have x-ray cameras below the belt?

[Just_a_fan]

With the flow under the tunnel being motioned as complex, how do teams visualize the flow?

Do they have x-ray cameras below the belt?

Digital Particle Image Velocimetry, perhaps. Tiny particles are added to the airflow and a laser sheet scans the volume. Using cameras and computers, the motion of the particles can be tracked and a model of complex flows built up. The particles are small enough that they don't mess with the flow, and the laser/camera tracking system doesn't interact with the flow in any way either - unlike, for example, the traditional smoke lance would do. At least, that's my basic understanding of the technique.

[FW17]

With the flow under the tunnel being motioned as complex, how do teams visualize the flow?

Do they have x-ray cameras below the belt?

Digital Particle Image Velocimetry, perhaps. Tiny particles are added to the airflow and a laser sheet scans the volume. Using cameras and computers, the motion of the particles can be tracked and a model of complex flows built up. The particles are small enough that they don't mess with the flow, and the laser/camera tracking system doesn't interact with the flow in any way either - unlike, for example, the traditional smoke lance would do. At least, that's my basic understanding of the technique.

yes, I thought of that one, but with the model so close to the road surface, will a laser be able to visualize?

[Just_a_fan]

With the flow under the tunnel being motioned as complex, how do teams visualize the flow?

Do they have x-ray cameras below the belt?

Digital Particle Image Velocimetry, perhaps. Tiny particles are added to the airflow and a laser sheet scans the volume. Using cameras and computers, the motion of the particles can be tracked and a model of complex flows built up. The particles are small enough that they don't mess with the flow, and the laser/camera tracking system doesn't interact with the flow in any way either - unlike, for example, the traditional smoke lance would do. At least, that's my basic understanding of the technique.

yes, I thought of that one, but with the model so close to the road surface, will a laser be able to visualize?

https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_u ... 44fig1.jpg

Laser sheet in from the side or even from within the model itself, carefully positioned cameras (behind the model). Should be possible.

[AR3-GP]

With the flow under the tunnel being motioned as complex, how do teams visualize the flow?

Do they have x-ray cameras below the belt?

Digital Particle Image Velocimetry, perhaps. Tiny particles are added to the airflow and a laser sheet scans the volume. Using cameras and computers, the motion of the particles can be tracked and a model of complex flows built up. The particles are small enough that they don't mess with the flow, and the laser/camera tracking system doesn't interact with the flow in any way either - unlike, for example, the traditional smoke lance would do. At least, that's my basic understanding of the technique.

yes, I thought of that one, but with the model so close to the road surface, will a laser be able to visualize?

https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/ftp_u ... 44fig1.jpg

Here's a review of PIV in F1 written by one of our writers: https://www.f1technical.net/features/15830

It's not common to do it often because the seed/tracer particle concoction is quite messy and all this stuff makes an absolute mess of the entire windtunnel loop, fan, rolling road, and the model. It's much easier to just instrument the model with an array of kiel probes and pressure taps.

[FW17]

My guess is they are not using a rolling road but a glass floor with cameras below.
They must be using some other way of simulating the road surface effect with a stationary surface. The wheels may be rotated with localized rollers pads.
Must be a compromise between having a rolling road and haveing the best way to visualize the flow below the car.

Would also explain why Red bull did not have porpoising issue because the surface would have been rigid, while others would have been using a belt that would have been sucked up locally under the floor.