Ferrari F2012

[bhall]

They do so by "splitting" the upwash from the wing so that its interaction with oncoming flow is minimized....

How do you physically 'split' the upwash from the wing?

Brian

Early man did it with a combination of shaped stones and luck. It was obviously crude. But, it was nonetheless effective, even if success was also a bit limited. This went on for millennia until the ancient Egyptians realized the process relied on luck more than anything else. Wanting to improve the efficiency of the process, Thutmose IV directed his advisers to devise a more predictable and reliable system, because he feared the effects of wind erosion would prematurely reduce his kingdom to rubble.

Little is known about the fruit of their labors, however, as the creation apparently did not work. When the Great Sphinx of Giza lost its nose, the pharaoh was angered and ordered that his advisers be executed in a particularly brutal fashion. Needless to say, anyone with knowledge of this ill-fated solution remained mum on its particulars lest they meet the same cruel fate.

It wasn't until Mario Vespucci, cousin of Amerigo, decided to set sail on his own that additional progress was made. He was so tired of living in his cousin's rather formidable shadow that he surmised he'd probably have to do something special to set himself apart if he had any hope of getting recognition for his efforts. Mario was not a greedy man; he didn't need to be celebrated by having a future superpower named in his honor. More than anything else, Mario simply wanted to be known as something other than "Amerigo's bitch."

He soon decided that the best way to accomplish this goal would be to outrun his famous cousin on an exploratory trip around the world. But, because shipbuilding by that point had become rather stagnant, he initially struggled to formulate a solution to help him complete the task. He nearly drove himself to madness until he remembered a primitive culture he encountered in the South Pacific on an island known as Withgoddamnvshapedcutouts. He remembered their fast, tiny fishing boats and the tiny notches that were cut into their tiny transoms. Both the feature and the boats' speed left substantial impressions.

In a rush to set sail as soon as possible, Mario asked his friend and countryman, Leonardo da Vinci, with help with quickly designing and implementing his idea. However, he was thwarted when the inventor replied, "Not now. I'm busy painting an ugly woman." Disheartened, Mario realized the work would be totally his own.

That wasn't all bad, though. Mario's eventual ingenious design proved to be an enormous success. So much so that he paid a visit to his island muse to celebrate the majesty of his creative prowess with those who had indirectly helped him to find it. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that the people of Withgoddamnvshapedcutouts were ritualistic cannibals, and he had arrived just in time for their annual feast. After the "Festival of Life Sort of," as the feast was known at the time, the only items that remained of Mario's expedition were his innovative boat and an oddly anachronistic can of Spam.

Little of his design has changed over the years. Even the great Albert Einstein couldn't improve upon it. It's been said that he broke down in frustrated tears during the attempt and then vowed to thereafter focus his attention on easier matters such as a unifying theory of the universe.


Mario "The Other White Meat" Vespucci
1460 - 1501


Traditional Withgoddamnvshapedcutouts tribal art

[hardingfv32]

hope i made myself clear enough...

I am sorry, but you did not.

Are you talking about countering the trailing vortex? Trying to reduce their size?

I assume we are talking about drag reduction without downforce reduction.

Brian

[bhall]

It's quite simple. The cutouts effectively reduce the frontal area of the rear wing and the wake it produces. Simple, easy, nothing to it. No need to invoke vorticies, turbulence, black magic or hot dogs.

[superdread]

It's quite simple. The cutouts effectively reduce the frontal area of the rear wing and the wake it produces. Simple, easy, nothing to it. No need to invoke vorticies, turbulence, black magic or hot dogs.

But they do create vortices, and reducing camber would cut drag even more (maybe).

I would guess, that with the six vortices behind the car (to large ones from the endplates and two per v-cut, all counterotating to the ones next to him), they eat into the high pressure wake from the flow over the wing and reduce its energy to smooth the transition with the low-power wake from the flow under the wing.

Another guess would be that the outer vortices of the cuts weaken the big vortices of the endplates to reduce their drag.

[hardingfv32]

Again, I assume the goal is to reduce drag without reducing downforce. Removing a section of wing does not seem too creative, nor does it meet that goal. Why is the missing area, V, located at the end of the wing fence?

Are there design features more popular than vortices that reduce drag but not lift/downforce?

Brian

[bhall]

Again, I assume the goal is to reduce drag without reducing downforce. Removing a section of wing does not seem too creative, nor does it meet that goal.
[...]

Given that they've clearly removed two sections of wing, why then would you even bother to make that assumption?

[Chuckjr]

What is the purpose of the different "v" shaped cut outs (sometimes one of them, sometimes two of them, why not three?) on the top edge of the rear wing?

Secondly, do they correspond or have anything to do with what's going on with the front wing? Are there patterns between the two?

As luck would have it, I just recently learned about this.

The cutouts on the rear-wing flap reduce induced drag. They do so by "splitting" the upwash from the wing so that its interaction with oncoming flow is minimized, which cuts drag.



Visualize two "gaps" in the air flowing through the Trefftz Plane above, which is a constant theoretical area behind the car and perpendicular to the its wake everywhere there is wake. Like a "stalking wall," it's a representation of the air the car just passed through. The cutouts reduce the amount of wake that has to "break through" this wall.

And although the front wing has an aerodynamic effect on literally every part of the car downstream from it, I don't necessarily think the new front wing and the V-shaped cutouts are significantly linked here.

Fantastic. Thank you.

If it does not affect or relate to much of the car, why not use more of them, further, why are they removed/not used by most of the teams with it being such an effective use of aero?
Are there limits to how many "v's" are allowed? Meaning, could a team make a wing with a edge that is nothing but v's? Something like this? -------> \/\/\/\/\/

[bhall]

The cutouts cost downforce. That's why you don't always see them and why you don't see them everywhere along the wing flap.

[hardingfv32]

...why then would you even bother to make that assumption?

Because it seems odd way to reduce downforce and drag. Why not just use a more traditional way, such as reducing the AoA?

The goal of these features, V's, is to reduce drag while not effecting downforce. Improve the l/D ratio.

Brian

[bhall]

How do you know the goal of these features is to reduce drag without affecting downforce?

How do you know this is less effective than merely reducing the wing's AoA?

Have you stopped to consider whether or not the rate in which the cutouts shed drag/downforce is constant?

[hardingfv32]

Have you stopped to consider whether or not the rate in which the cutouts shed drag/downforce is constant?

I can not consider that without some knowledge of how the feature function aerodynamically. What is the name of these aerodynamic features? Do you have any info depicting how the L/D changes with speed?

Brian

[bhall]

I've given you some information regarding the aerodynamic function of these features. As such, I imagine you'd find research about "induced drag," "wake," and "Trefftz Plane" very helpful, especially if you can find something that addresses all three.

[godlameroso]

Have you stopped to consider whether or not the rate in which the cutouts shed drag/downforce is constant?

I can not consider that without some knowledge of how the feature function aerodynamically. What is the name of these aerodynamic features? Do you have any info depicting how the L/D changes with speed?

Brian

Well if you look at it as simply as possible, no bodywork, no drag, so there's that

If you want hard figures, you would have to see how the airflow is conditioned by the cut outs and how that interacts with the RW endplate vortecies. I assume Ferrari is doing just that as they have not ran the design yet in a race.

[F1.Ru]

hope i made myself clear enough...

I am sorry, but you did not.

Are you talking about countering the trailing vortex? Trying to reduce their size?

I assume we are talking about drag reduction without downforce reduction.

Brian

You can reduce the trailing edge's generated vortex which create drag through those cutouts but to retain the same or optimum level of downforce you can change the AoA of the RW main flap and this changes can also effect further reduction of the drag induce by the vortex behind the RW........

[superdread]

If you want hard figures, you would have to see how the airflow is conditioned by the cut outs and how that interacts with the RW endplate vortecies. I assume Ferrari is doing just that as they have not ran the design yet in a race.

They did, according to formula1techandart and I seem to remember that they had such cutouts last year (but only one in the middle).