Aerodynamic results for a notchback race car

Abstract

The use of numerical simulations is nowadays drawing an increasing interest in aerodynamic shape optimization. We firstly present a thorough benchmark of different numerical experiments done with Fluent, CFX, OpenFOAM and PowerFLOW on the Ahmed body in order to select the proper model and numerical scheme for our needs. Numerical strategies for reducing preparation, discretization, simulation and time optimization are also shown. Secondly, results around a NACA airfoil are discussed. As an application we consider the air flow around a notchback race car. The results presented show that the chosen strategy is able to accurately predict drag, lift and aerodynamic efficiency with low computational cost.