Mercedes GP MGP W01

[ringo]

Oh yeah, airfoils were made up, so don't be too critical of the standard 250mm sections either side of the centre line. I wanted to copy the PDF ordinates from the regulations but it was an image, not text.

[timbo]

Great work!

Now we can discuss what's going on with this nose. It is similar to what I predicted.

I think most interesting question is what going on behind!
If they only cared about nose they would definitely get rid of those "ridges".
Any ideas on that?

[toshinden]

what is arch?

with the more rain forecast in jerez this week, maybe we'll stick to this nose discussion a litle longer ... hope in barcelona they start to reveal their card [-o<

[Raptor22]

A picture is worth 1000 words

not 100% accurate but pretty close. (splitter was rushed )


cut plot

Now we can discuss what's going on with this nose. It is similar to what I predicted. Even though the pressure changes are not drastic; every little thing adds up.
The expansion is from the darker blue under the point of inflection between the wing supports. The good thing though, is that it is still in the atmospheric region of pressure after the expansion. I am guessing it could be harmless.
The nose is too narrow to create any real suction under it since the flow field to the sides are at atmospheric.
I will then say the arch in the nose is just to meet the regulated longitudinal area.
The nose was made very high and sloped to obtain down-force. Because of this tall nose, the cross section would be rather big if a straight line was used from the chin to the splitter like the Redbull. The arch is a way to take out some area under the nose while still being able to use that big blob at the tip of the car.

This simulation was done on a very basic mesh setting. It's gonna take some hours for better details with my little old PC.

This is just my opinion by the way, happy to hear any corrections.

Don;t forget that air has friction with layers flowing next to it so there would be an influence over the rest of the wing too, small, but present.

And vise versa, the wing ends affect teh flow clsoe to the nose coneand the area behind it.
Could you add in the wing end area effects as well?

[JohnsonEvilTwin]

So, bearing in mind this high nose with a "slope" designed into it has no equivalent, Why are Brawn still using last years diffuser and front wing?
These 2 pieces of kit are over 12 months old now. Any news on when we will see the finalised car?
I'm led to belive tha the rear of the car was packaged as tight as possible to allow for a larger diffuser.

If the Mercedes W01 can live with the Red Bull and Ferrari, imagine what the thing can do if it had the 2010 spec diffuser and wing....

[axle]

It's not last years diffuser...it's just not massively different on the outside.

You won't see any final itterations of any of them till at least Barca...and most will wait till Bahrain.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Look at the comparison earlier in the thread, I think you will find the diffuser as a whole is 99.99% the same, save for the joining section which will be different as its a different car. Every picture i have seen suggests so.

Have you seen more of the diffuser? Can you point me in the right direction to seeing the pic????

[impaero]

ringo: I don't know what you used to get your picture, but just by looking at the shape of the nose, I doubt that the area you have as 'low pressure point' is actually low pressure.

[axle]

Look at the comparison earlier in the thread, I think you will find the diffuser as a whole is 99.99% the same, save for the joining section which will be different as its a different car. Every picture i have seen suggests so.

Have you seen more of the diffuser? Can you point me in the right direction to seeing the pic????

Main differences are indeed down the whole of the centre...but then BGP believed they had made the most of the regulations last year so I wouldn't expect a dramatic change this year, just more refinement.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

What of these super diffuser stories doing the rounds?

[BreezyRacer]

Ringo
Nice work, but let's see some flow lines around the sides of the nose section, under the assumption that the lumps isolate the upper surface flow from the sides.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Ringo what programme models are you using and what are the system requirements?

[horse]

What's going on at the car floor Ringo, is the flow being blocked there? I suspect that the flow here will have a significant impact on the development of the flow under the nose.

[ringo]

I wanted to put in the flows over the wing, but with this low level of meshing you wont be able to see all the vortices. I am using solid works, but my PC takes hours to do a high detail simulation. I had this PC since 2005 so it's not that hot
I made this nose and wing yesterday, using some pics as a guide.

@ impearo: Though this detail level is pretty low, the mathematical principles are the same, and those pressure regions will only slightly change with the better mesh settings. That low pressure area is what happens with most vehicles; any time the flow approaches a concave inflection, the stream lines will get closer and increase velocity.

Those ridges on the side of the nose could be vortex generators or gurney flaps, a better mesh would be able to detail that thin ridge and show the real interaction between the nose underside and the gurney. Honestly i don't think this detail level can capture the effects of the gurney's so well.


simulation didn't do a good job with the gurneys here.

The wing ends affect the flow, but i don't know if it propagates to the nose are directly behind it. It would more than likely spread out with increasing distance from the wing.
I am going to try a higher detail run, and see about the wings. I might through in the wheels too.

[ringo]

What's going on at the car floor Ringo, is the flow being blocked there? I suspect that the flow here will have a significant impact on the development of the flow under the nose.

Yeah, i don't have a bow there to divert the flow to the sides. The Splitter is supposed to stagnate some of the flow to put a high pressure on top to push the car to the ground. Drag is reduced with the bow, pushing the air to the sides then onto the floor.
The impact is not long reaching, but i think the floor get's the priority over the nose.
Well this is what I think, I am just going off what i see, It's the first time i have done an F1 car, so it can be taken with a pinch of salt.