Mr Daulayefa Paul Omoniyei

Research project: The Effects of Serrations on the Aerodynamic Performance of F-1 Race Car Wing with a Slotted Flap

Abstract

In recent years, trailing-edge serrations have been used in the rear wings of F-1 race cars to improve the aerodynamic performance of the multi-slotted flap wing system. The serrations create high-energy, mini streamwise vortices passing over the surfaces of the flap, which re-energise the boundary layer, delaying flow separation on the flap and increasing the lift coefficient. However, this innovative serration design is yet to be well understood. Therefore, the research aims to investigate the effect of the trailing edge serrations on the time average characteristics of the mini-vortical structures on a generic F-1 wing with a single-slotted flap using Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations. Moreover, the effects of serration shape, wavelength, amplitude and flap settings on the lift, drag coefficients and lift-to-drag ratio for a generic rear wing with a single slotted flap will be explored to establish the optimal serration design for rear wing application.