Front wing downforce levels

[hardingfv32]

Do we have any info about front wing downforce levels over the last couple of years?

Brian

[Lycoming]

as a rough guideline, try looking at the tests for wing deflection, as they are meant to be representative of the vertical component of the aero loads the wings experience (ie. the downforce component). I don't remember ofhand what the number is, but they jacked it up this year. Last year it was plainly obvious that the number they were using was an underestimate.

[hardingfv32]

Good thought

Brian

[Caito]

There's some knowledge(read interviews posted in this page) about total downforce.

You could assume that the aero balance is the same as the weight balance, which is fixed by the rules. That would give you a ballpark number. Though it's still difficult to know how much of the front downforce is generated by the wing vs the floor.

[Jersey Tom]

Over 9000

[xpensive]

Over 9000

Gosh, that's affirmative, wonder if it might be in Newtons or lbf and at what speed, a riddle inside an enigma?

[shelly]

I think a good reference is ScZ= 1.3 m2 for the front wing

[raymondu999]

Over 9000

Gosh, that's affirmative, wonder if it might be in Newtons or lbf and at what speed, a riddle inside an enigma?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiMHTK15Pik[/youtube]

[hardingfv32]

as a rough guideline, try looking at the tests for wing deflection, as they are meant to be representative of the vertical component of the aero loads the wings experience

This was a good though by Lycoming, but how does it translate to wing load across the surface of the wing?

Assuming a simple single element FW, does the aero downforce require to bend the wing match the weight placed in the test location, that would also bend the wing an equal amount? Seems like the aero downforce number could be much larger.

Brian

[Lycoming]

If the center of pressure is further inboard than what the test specifies, then yes, its possible that the actual downforce will be greater than the loads in the test cases. In any case its a rough guide, as teams could generate more downforce than that at higher speeds as long as it does pass that deflection test.