The wake of the front tires affects the airflow over the remainder of a fenderless race car. The tires can also be responsible for up to 40% of the vehicle’s drag. Prior experiments have used compromised models with solid, symmetric hubs and nondeformable tires. The present experiment acquires particle image velocimetry measurements around a 60% scale model of a deformable pneumatic tire fitted to a spoked Formula 1 wheel with complete brake geometry and supplementary brake cooling ducts. The results show reversed flow regions in the tire wake, asymmetric longitudinal vortex structures behind the tire, and a tire wake profile that is unlike previous experimental results and postulations. The flow through the hub of the wheel causes a shift of the wake inboard (toward the car) so that the outboard side of the wake does not extend past the outline of the tire.

Issue Section:
Flows in Complex Systems
Keywords:
aerodynamics, flow visualisation, tyres
Topics:
Flow (Dynamics), Tires, Wakes
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Copyright © 2010
 by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
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