Mercedes AMG F1 W03

[Huntresa]

I dont think anyone runs a full size wind tunnel model.

Sauber's Tunnel can do 100% models, one of only 3 in the world at the time it was built. Whether they use it that way is a different matter.

Yeah they dont use 100% and arent allowed to anyways except what the rules above states.

[bhall]

[...]

My guess is that due that pipe being behind the roll hoop and engine cover, that the free stream flow isn't affected as much the discharged flow.

This is a rather good image of the intakes:
[image]

I don't think the air box or its peripherals have the dramatic effect downstream required to mitigate the effects of the free stream on flow discharged from the VD. Otherwise, they would have stuck with the "blade" roll hoop on principle, don't you think? It would also mean the overall effectiveness of the rear wing would be diminished, which could be the case anyway.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, because I'm not so sure the Lotus VD works at all. The concept is simple; implementing it, however, is decidedly complicated.

Maybe all that was needed was this concept of detaching the duct from the wing. Maybe it's just a dead-end development path.

(Maybe the guys at Lotus are snickering right now. "Oh, God, they bought it! They really bought it!")

[NewtonMeter]

I don't think the air box or its peripherals have the dramatic effect downstream required to mitigate the effects of the free stream on flow discharged from the VD. Otherwise, they would have stuck with the "blade" roll hoop on principle, don't you think? It would also mean the overall effectiveness of the rear wing would be diminished, which could be the case anyway.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, because I'm not so sure the Lotus VD works at all. The concept is simple; implementing it, however, is decidedly complicated.

Maybe all that was needed was this concept of detaching the duct from the wing. Maybe it's just a dead-end development path.

(Maybe the guys at Lotus are snickering right now. "Oh, God, they bought it! They really bought it!")

For all the talk about the coanda effect, has no one realised the same thing will be happening here as well? The air exiting near the wing surface will follow the contours of the underside of the wing, which will reduce drag.

http://img2.auto-motor-und-sport.de/Mer ... 627989.jpg

Maybe the "3 chiefs/cooks" are smarter than they're given credit for by the geniuses that reside in here...

[zyphro]

I don't think the air box or its peripherals have the dramatic effect downstream required to mitigate the effects of the free stream on flow discharged from the VD. Otherwise, they would have stuck with the "blade" roll hoop on principle, don't you think? It would also mean the overall effectiveness of the rear wing would be diminished, which could be the case anyway.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, because I'm not so sure the Lotus VD works at all. The concept is simple; implementing it, however, is decidedly complicated.

Maybe all that was needed was this concept of detaching the duct from the wing. Maybe it's just a dead-end development path.

(Maybe the guys at Lotus are snickering right now. "Oh, God, they bought it! They really bought it!")

For all the talk about the coanda effect, has no one realised the same thing will be happening here as well? The air exiting near the wing surface will follow the contours of the underside of the wing, which will reduce drag.

http://img2.auto-motor-und-sport.de/Mer ... 627989.jpg

Maybe the "3 chiefs/cooks" are smarter than they're given credit for by the geniuses that reside in here...

Interesting.

[bhall]

For all the talk about the coanda effect, has no one realised the same thing will be happening here as well? The air exiting near the wing surface will follow the contours of the underside of the wing, which will reduce drag.

[...]

How so?

Air flow under the wing that follows the contour of the underside of the wing is the very essence of how wings create downforce, which is also drag. If this system is reducing drag, it's doing so with a jet that discharges air flow tangentially to the wing, and that discharged air disrupts the laminar flow on the underside of the wing, which diminishes downforce/drag.

For what it's worth, the Coanda effect is seen all over an F1 car. Lord knows I'm not an aerodynamicist/engineer/intelligent person, but I do know that term is being overused this year.

[NewtonMeter]

How so?

Air flow under the wing that follows the contour of the underside of the wing is the very essence of how wings create downforce, which is also drag. If this system is reducing drag, it's doing so with a jet that discharges air flow tangentially to the wing, and that discharged air disrupts the laminar flow on the underside of the wing, which diminishes downforce/drag.

For what it's worth, the Coanda effect is seen all over an F1 car. Lord knows I'm not an aerodynamicist/engineer/intelligent person, but I do know that term is being overused this year.

Hold on a sec...before we continue, why does it seem to me that the end of the vertical pipe is blanked off? Are there any high res pics of this component of todays test?

[NonNewtonic]

How so?

Air flow under the wing that follows the contour of the underside of the wing is the very essence of how wings create downforce, which is also drag. If this system is reducing drag, it's doing so with a jet that discharges air flow tangentially to the wing, and that discharged air disrupts the laminar flow on the underside of the wing, which diminishes downforce/drag.

For what it's worth, the Coanda effect is seen all over an F1 car. Lord knows I'm not an aerodynamicist/engineer/intelligent person, but I do know that term is being overused this year.

Hold on a sec...before we continue, why does it seem to me that the end of the vertical pipe is blanked off? Are there any high res pics of this component of todays test?

It seems like they are not running the 'triple DRS' today they are doing back to back evaluation between the new and old exhaust layout

[elf341]

W03 fastest lap timings Magny Cours test:
Fastest lap (2012-09-12): 1:17.482s, 125 laps
Fastest lap (2012-09-11): 1:19.094s, 95 laps

So 1.5s faster today than yesterday. All cars appeared faster today though, so this may be due to rubbering in.

[MercAMGF1Fans]

W03 fastest lap timings Magny Cours test:
Fastest lap (2012-09-12): 1:17.482s, 125 laps
Fastest lap (2012-09-11): 1:19.094s, 95 laps

So 1.5s faster today than yesterday. All cars appeared faster today though, so this may be due to rubbering in.

and they used the soft (yellow) compound all day today.. press release from merc

[Ferraripilot]

I saw Merc were testing their old exhaust configuration today as well. I'm not sure if they ever bolted the EBD back on so I'm wondering if today was just a long comparison/data day once again so they have as much info as possible in comparing the two systems. Overall, we've heard Mercedes say they are pleased with the upgrades though. If they've brought 10-15 points to the table they should do very well.

[elf341]

I'm not sure if they ever bolted the EBD back on

They did put it back on. This is a shot from later in the day:

[xpensive]

...
Overall, we've heard Mercedes say they are pleased with the upgrades though.
...

They should be, only one sec behind Force India for the second day on the trot!

[raymondu999]

W03 fastest lap timings Magny Cours test:
Fastest lap (2012-09-12): 1:17.482s, 125 laps
Fastest lap (2012-09-11): 1:19.094s, 95 laps

So 1.5s faster today than yesterday. All cars appeared faster today though, so this may be due to rubbering in.

Are you honestly reading into test laptimes?

[bhall]

Here's my humble interpretation of Mercedes' 36DDDRS.

The concept is simple and could be an improvement upon the Lotus system. But, that doesn't mean it will work.

Mercedes has replaced the attached duct found on the E20 with what I imagine is just a simple high-pressure jet. That Mercedes has not attached the duct to the wing, even though such an attachment kick-starts the system's effectiveness so to speak, could indicate that the attachment degrades overall performance of the wing more than the system enhances the performance of the car. Lotus' reluctance to run the system when it counts seems to support this.

The jet's output must be strong enough to avoid being diffused by the free-stream air flow under the wing. If it works, it will essentially eliminate the portion of the wing above the point contacted by the jet's output, at least as far as air flow underneath the wing is concerned. That will reduce downforce-related drag as well as wake-related drag.

Maybe.

The slot-gap separator should split the flow from the jet. I'm still working on that image.

[zyphro]

W03 fastest lap timings Magny Cours test:
Fastest lap (2012-09-12): 1:17.482s, 125 laps
Fastest lap (2012-09-11): 1:19.094s, 95 laps

So 1.5s faster today than yesterday. All cars appeared faster today though, so this may be due to rubbering in.

Are you honestly reading into test laptimes?

My sentiments exactly; what would be better is footage of the car going around the track.