A CFD-Based Investigation of Downforce–Drag Trade-Off in NACA Airfoils for Formula One Rear-Wing Applications

This study investigates the aerodynamic performance of nine NACA airfoils (۲۳۱۲, ۲۴۱۲, ۲۵۱۲, ۴۳۱۲, ۴۴۱۲, ۴۵۱۲, ۶۳۱۲, ۶۴۱۲, and ۶۵۱۲) for use in rear-wing applications of high-performance race cars. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the airfoils were analyzed across three angles of attack (۰°, ۶°, ۱۲°) and two freestream velocities (۳۰ m/s and ۶۰ m/s). A mesh-independence study was conducted to ensure reliable results, with the finest mesh providing negligible variations in lift and drag coefficients (۰.۰۳% and ۰.۰۲%, respectively). The results showed that all airfoils produced decreased downforce up to ۶° AoA, after which downforce increased at ۱۲°. Higher camber airfoils exhibited greater downforce at the optimal AoA but suffered larger performance losses at ۱۲°. The effect of velocity was also significant, with downforce and drag values increasing at ۶۰ m/s compared to ۳۰ m/s. The drag coefficient demonstrated a U-shaped curve across AoA, with drag peaking at ۱۲°. Airfoils such as NACA ۶۳۱۲ and NACA ۶۴۱۲ showed superior lift-to-drag ratios, especially at higher velocities, making them strong candidates for aerodynamic optimization. These findings provide a comprehensive basis for selecting airfoil geometries for rear-wing optimization, emphasizing the trade-off between downforce generation and drag minimization in race conditions. The study highlights the importance of selecting airfoils that maintain high aerodynamic efficiency across a range of speeds and angles of attack.

کلیدواژه ها:

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) ، Rear-wing ، Optimization ، Aerodynamic performance