2018 aero developments

[godlameroso]

Concerning the barge board...

I'm interested in some speculation about literally putting a diffusor across the car in that area. I understand that it is all about downstream management of the flow structures, but since this is almost unlimited in this area, you could have some trick strakes in the area to still get that.

What would prevent a full blown diffusor in this area (rules), and is it worth exploring (would it help)?

No exhaust allowed there.

Can we refer to this area as the mid wing from now on. I mentioned this in the very first post on this thread.

I say turn it into a wing, and just like the front wing has all sorts of flaps and flicks and tunnels and strakes, so too could the bargeboards. So flow conditioning shouldn't be too difficult.

Just putting a wing there at the outer edge of the bargeboard will not only produce downforce but help seal the diffuser.

This is because the upwash from the mid wing will send some airflow over the floor, air that normally wants to go under the floor. So will pull in air travelling along the side of the car through the stagnation zone between the bodywork and the rear tire effectively sealing the diffuser from tire squirt. Granted there's more at play and this is a simplified interpretation of the process. Without the wing shape at the edge of the *edit:bargeboards you also get a stagnation zone behind the bargeboard *edit:itself which lowers diffuser efficiency at lower speeds and transient conditions(ie turn in under braking). Something both the McLaren and Williams have trouble with.

Renault has a plate on their mid wing as well but theirs is positioned more inboard, so the tallest part isn't near the edge. But the long plate is inferior, too much scope for transient stagnation, and in McLaren's case they put the plate in the worst possible place. It was much better last year when the plate was more upstream. The vortex generators on the foot plate on the Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari are there to channel some free stream air through the mid wing as the air inboard of the bargeboards isn't as heavily affected by the front tire wake.

[Zynerji]

I didn't mean a "blown" diffuser in the EBD sense... lol. Just "full blown" = complete (bad American slang)

Makes sense to call it a mid wing, but could you run a full convex diffuser shape in this area? Completely enclosed with strakes on the top for under- pod vortex generation...

[godlameroso]

I didn't mean a "blown" diffuser in the EBD sense... lol. Just "full blown" = complete (bad American slang)

Makes sense to call it a mid wing, but could you run a full convex diffuser shape in this area? Completely enclosed with strakes on the top for under- pod vortex generation...

No, you can run a flat plate, and gently curve it so it meets with the bargeboard, but you're allowed to use slots and things of that nature to delay separation. You could make it work like a diffuser/front wing type device.

You can't just take it in isolation though. This area of the car is directly affected by the front tires and the front wing, as well as the airflow off the nose.

Look at all the pictures of bargeboards, I've plastered them all up and down this thread, look at them. Look at the fastest teams, look a what they're doing in the mid wing area, everyone is using multi element aerofoil devices. The secret is guiding clean air so that it interacts with the mid wing dead on. Normally there is the turbulence coming off the front tire, so you guide clean air coming off the nose and Y250 at the leading edge of the barge boards(vortex generators used by the top 3), so that it "cleans up" the turbulence from the front tire, this energizes the mid wing and boosts it's effectivness. The second thing that boost it's effectiveness is plain ol' surface area, you want the foot plate as big as the regulations allow, look at the Renault, they maximized the area of the foot plate but screwed the pooch by using that stupid plate in exactly the wrong place.

Having the plate so far outboard like Renault and McLaren did was a mistake(especially under yaw). Williams didn't even bother to put any wing elements there at all and look how bad they are.

[godlameroso]

What did last year's car have that this year's car doesn't, look right behind the bargeboard, that wavy wing that aimed air under the floor is missing in this year's car. WHY?

[PhillipM]

Maybe the airflow under that is so complex they don't want to refit it until the fix whatever is going on further back?
Explains why the new sidepods never arrived too

[godlameroso]

Maybe the airflow under that is so complex they don't want to refit it until the fix whatever is going on further back?
Explains why the new sidepods never arrived too

Other than it being influenced by the nose and t-tray I fail to see what's so complex about free stream air passing through that part of the bargeboards. Sauber took a big step forward when they increased the surface area of the inboard foot plate behind the bargeboard, and another step after they added slots to aim air under the floor.

McLaren had a very advanced device in this area last year and I've never seen them run it this year. Furthermore, Sauber didn't make huge changes to the rear or the front of the car for their step, but rather worked exclusively in the bargeboard edge and foot plate area. Last year Force India also made a big step forward by focusing on this area, as did Renault. McLaren has stagnated because they removed this device, and canceled any gain the nose might have brought. It's doubly frustrating because if what you're saying is true and the device doesn't work with the new nose then they have essentially gone backwards by introducing it(the new nose).

I keep saying it, they just need to focus on this area, this unlocks the performance in the rest of the car, which as I've said several times already, is extremely good. I see no issues with McLaren's diffuser, or their rear wing, or their front wing, or their side pod deflectors, or the slots on the floor, or the nose, or anything else really. I see it as an otherwise excellent car that's marred by a critical failure in the bargeboard area, namely the foot plate and the bargeboard edges(what I call the mid wing). The bargeboards themselves are excellent, that's not what needs to change. They need to bring an updated version of that device, which is part of the floor, along with an actual mid wing. I don't know if the McLaren version is modular like the Ferrari one, which if it's not, would mean the current mid wing will stay until next season or they re-engineer the car.

[godlameroso]

[godlameroso]

[diffuser]

I don't know if they're lost or just side tracked. Onething that gives me solace is that RBR struggled last year and they found themselves ...

Testing 2017


Australia 2017



singapour 2017

[godlameroso]

Mercedes has increased the surface area of their mid wing.

In the Mercedes thread users incorrectly assume it's shorter, however the now curved shape actually increases surface area.

[godsire]

Because we are referring to a different 'wing' than what you anticipated (coloured below):



Naturally it has to be smaller as the bit highlighted with the turquoise arrow became smaller, thus reducing the shadowing area as seen from below.

[godlameroso]

Interesting flow vis in my favorite area.



Wish I could get a better look.

[tomazy]

Wish I could get a better look.

[godlameroso]

Great shot really lets you see the floor area, the device behind the bargeboards, and the 3 element mid wing.

[Big Tea]

So where are the titanium skid blocks on there?