Pescarolo's Wobbly Bobbly Wings

[greencow]

Would this fancy wing flap be legal in F1? Does any one know how it works and the purpose of it?

Rival teams waste valuable development time evaluating the concept, which is a major benefit

[marekk]

My guess is drag reduction.

Flow around a (hemi)sphere looks like this:



and drag coeeficient:



If they manage to tune the shape to achieve Reynolds number in the range of 5x10^5 at desired top speed, drag reduces suddenly due to highly turbulent wake region forming behind.

[hecti]

I think there's a 100mm minimum radius requirement for rear wing elements so I doubt it'd be legal.

yes, the element has to have a 100mm radius, but there is no mention of "attached bubbles" or not being able to have bubbles on the wing. I like pushing the regulations, its how this sport works, so I would have to say that this is 100% legal. Nothing says you cant attach bubbles to the rear wing, and as long as the wing has a radius of 100mm i think this would (and should, imo ) pass the test.

[Just_a_fan]

I think there's a 100mm minimum radius requirement for rear wing elements so I doubt it'd be legal.

yes, the element has to have a 100mm radius, but there is no mention of "attached bubbles" or not being able to have bubbles on the wing. I like pushing the regulations, its how this sport works, so I would have to say that this is 100% legal. Nothing says you cant attach bubbles to the rear wing, and as long as the wing has a radius of 100mm i think this would (and should, imo ) pass the test.

The regs allow two sections, and they may have no concave radius less than 100mm so you can't add the bubbles afterwards. The only way I can see this being F1-legal is if you could persuade the stewards that it is a gurney tab. They are allowed to be added but must not be more than 20mm in longitudinal cross section. Not sure how effective they'd be if that small though.

I think you'd have a tough time getting this one by the stewards/FIA.

[gary71]

Is this design not an attempt to create numerous small trailing vortices to "draw" air from under the wing and thereby speeding up the flow from under the wing? On a whale it is the leading edge they are working with and angle of attack where in this case the angle of attack is small.

[Giblet]

Is this an evolution of the tried and true gurney flap? Much of the same effect with less drag?

[wesley123]

i think so, although its effect is much less controlled i can imagine for example in yawing conditions, iic Oak racing also ran a more straight forward wing on the test days

[Formula None]

My guess is drag reduction.

Flow around a (hemi)sphere looks like this:



and drag coeeficient:



If they manage to tune the shape to achieve Reynolds number in the range of 5x10^5 at desired top speed, drag reduces suddenly due to highly turbulent wake region forming behind.

Makes sense. Flow around the hemispheres stays attached up to a certain speed & the gurney flap functions normally. Beyond a certain speed, flow cannot stay attached around they entire hemisphere, they then stall & reduce the effectiveness of the gurney flap.

[PlatinumZealot]

I would compare the sphere directly with another shape though before I come to any conclusion. Another question to think about, why would they use a sphere? Is the sphere not the best shape for low drag? Just some questions.

[PlatinumZealot]

Question, how is the leading edge of an F1 rear wing legal if its radius is definitely less than 100mm? What am I not understanding?

[Formula None]

It's convex.

[PlatinumZealot]

Yeah I just read it a while ago.. So I think the spheres might be legal then. They have to be 8 inches apart though...

[Just_a_fan]

Yeah I just read it a while ago.. So I think the spheres might be legal then. They have to be 8 inches apart though...

Well, you'd have a small number of ridges separated by 200mm. I doubt it would be effective in that situation.

[PlatinumZealot]

Yes you are correct.

I just drew it up, due to the 750mm span, the maximum radius of each hemisphere is 60mm and they must be separated by 250mm for the 100mm radius to exist. Only 3 can fit though.

[PlatinumZealot]