Simulating the Effects of Active Aerodynamics on the Suspension System of a Formula Student Race Car

Abstract

Active aerodynamics is a growing topic in the automotive industry. With technological advancements at play, it has begun to spread across multiple avenues such as road vehicle ride comfort and the development of active suspension systems. However, the application of active aerodynamics in Formula cars has not been a commonly discussed topic. Furthermore, the effects of active aerodynamics on the suspension system have not been assessed for Formula Student race cars. Therefore, this study looks to obtain an understanding about how actively changing the Angles of Attack of an aerodynamic front wing and a rear wing would affect the suspension system of a Formula Student race car. The study was done by first choosing a wing profile using the XFLR5 software, modelling the front and rear wings using SolidWorks, according to the parametric guidelines of the Formula Student Competition for different angles of attack, analysing coefficients of lift and drag of the wings for each angle of attack using Ansys Workbench, and by performing full-vehicle acceleration and cornering analyses on MSC Adams Car to find how changing these coefficients affects the suspension dampers along the direction normal to the ground the vehicle travels on. This research would help understand the many forces acting on the suspension and to explore further developments in this area such as active aerodynamics in Formula Student race cars in the future.