Numerical Analysis of Inverted Airfoil for Optimized Aerodynamic Performance in Formula 1

Abstract

The aerodynamics and stability of a vehicle are greatly impacted by its design. A rear wing is an inverted airfoil that provides down-force at high speed. This research seeks to determine the effective airfoil profile & inclination angle of the rear wing in Formula 1, focusing on the computational simulation and analysis of drag and lift coefficients for the NACA 6409, S1223, and FX 63-137 airfoil profiles. Traditional F1 race cars use S1223 as their rear wing. So, we ran simulations on ANSYS Fluent to measure its performance relative to NACA 6409 & FX 63-137 airfoil. In order to keep the simulation realistic, parameters such as airfoil chord length, fluid velocity, density, dynamic viscosity are followed according to standard race conditions to replicate the high-speed environments of Formula 1 racing. The angle of attack ranges from 4° to -12°. The study aims to identify the aerodynamic performance characteristics of each airfoil by comparing their respective drag and lift coefficients. In addition, pressure, velocity & turbulence contours will help us to visualize fluid flow patterns. The results highlight that NACA 6409 generates highest lift to drag ratio of -72.04 at -6° angle of attack. While FX 63-137 produces lift to drag ratio of -70.63 at -4° angle of attack and S1223 gives lift to drag ratio of -67.65 at -4° angle of attack. So, we get an increase of aerodynamic performance of 6.48% for NACA 6409 & 4.4% for FX 63-137 relative to S1223 airfoil. Introducing NACA 6409 in F1 racing will give better results in terms of enhanced aerodynamic performance. This research contributes to the broader understanding of performance optimization in Formula 1 rear wings.