I have read in several places that the teams build 60% scale models for wind tunnel testing. I have also seen the pics of the Toyota wind tunel model that was made from carbon fibre. The tyres looked like they were made from skateboard wheel material (very stiff polyurethane), but the rest of the car was unpainted.
My question is are the 60% models absolutely complete, or are they just body panels mounted on some skeleton structure.
I would think that a 60% F1 chassis with some sort of motor (954RR twin turbo comes to mind) would be nothing short of amazing.
Are these just mini F1 cars, or simply aero contraptions with no internals?
Total assumption here, but I'd guess they have some facsimile of the cooling and exhaust system so as to take that airflow into account. But I'm fairly certain they wouldn't have any internal mechanisms beyond perhaps some form of data gathering equipment.
I read sometime ago that the parts are self-sustaining, made by stereolitography, kind of an ink jet printer that uses resin instead of ink.
They do it that way to assure a continuous flow of parts that are tested one after the other, because operating the tunnel costs a kidney and they are used in continuous shifts, 24 hours a day.
So, that discard building internals with tiny 60% engines, tiny 60% chassises or tiny 60% drivers (hey, they could use Ecclestone for that, or Graham Rahal, the american driver...). However, if they were makinkg them in that way, I'm sure more than one karter would buy them.
Last edited by Ciro Pabón on 07 Apr 2008, 23:31, edited 1 time in total.
Ciro Pabón wrote:I read sometime ago that the parts are self-sustaining, made by stereolitography, kind of an ink jet printer that uses resin instead of ink.
They do it that way to assure a continuous flow of parts that are tested one after the other, because operating the tunnel costs a kidney and they are used in continuous shifts, 24 hours a day.
I've seen the resin building quick-prototyping machines in use, and I think they are amazing. However, I don't think that they can produce the cleanliness that is necessary for aero testing. IE: The surface is rough.
I am still very interested in knowing what is INSIDE one of these models. Does anyone have some more to add to this?
Well, sorry for posting so much and answering so little (I'm building an installer, and every time I run the compiler I have to wait like 30 minutes, so I've posted like 10 times today ).
Actually, it's not that simple. They name of the technique is "Laser sintering". The machine (kind of a rolling printer, like in litography) sprays a resin powder that is sintered or fused by a laser with pinpoint accuracy in a special chamber filled with inert gas. The machine is directly hooked to the CAD computer. I imagine it's not rough, because that's what they use. What holds everything together, I don't know.
A typical resin SLS machine will have a "stepped" rough outside surface, yes. Generally smallest feature size is ~0.025"
Rapid protyping these type parts (or carbon composites.. or metals) uses a slightly different process. You can get better dimensional accuracy using different machines, and you can always hand finish rough spots.
Grip is a four letter word. All opinions are my own and not those of current or previous employers.
Hi Chris, I just spotted the thread started by you and saw that you didn’t get a response on the question what’s inside the wind tunnel models - there is a load bearing structure in the form of a spine (usually made from aluminium, it is sort of a back-bone chassis) which carries the outer shell and which is attached to the big aerofoil shaped strut seen on the pictures – this strut picks the model in the middle. There are also two methods of testing – “wheels on the model” and “wheels off the model” – in the former the wheels are attached to the model (vie the model uprights), while in the latter the wheels are carried by separate struts as seen on your pictures. Some F1 teams favour the first method, some the second.
Last edited by nas on 24 Jun 2008, 17:12, edited 1 time in total.
When I didn't want to open a new thread just for this booring ---, I elected to pick up on a related one.
Visiting the Windshear website, I couldn't help but be taken aback by the shear numbers of that contraption;
- A 6.71 m fan blowing 1345 m^3/sec through a 3.0 by 5.5 m nozzle up to 80 m/s (290 km/h)!
- A 4 MW motor, which will send an electricity bill of 96 MWh (some 10 kEUR) per day if used at full song around the clock.
Knowing just how much time the big-dogs spends in the windtunnel, good mother of Jesus what a waste of energy!
When a 60% model would be happy with a nozzle one third of the above area and probably half the air-speed,
power should be a fraction, why I understand the incentives behind the 2009/10 regulations on windtunnels.
"I spent most of my money on wine and women...I wasted the rest"
So the Charlotte facility is pretty much unique for F1 teams if we disregard Sauber.
Last edited by WhiteBlue on 29 Dec 2009, 16:50, edited 3 times in total.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best ..............................organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
A c2004 windtunnel model spine, machined from aluminium. you are looking from the rear, with the car pointing forwards.
Everything else mounts to this spine, bodywork, suspension etc.
Last edited by scarbs on 29 Dec 2009, 15:50, edited 1 time in total.
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