Race car tuned in 8 weeks

When CEEMO Engineering needed to test and optimise a new concept car they turned to EFD.Lab, a general purpose engineering fluid dynamics software from Flomerics for the task.

The entire design optimisation process for the 2-seater chassis took about eight weeks despite the design engineer being a novice in the use of fluid analysis software. “I am an aerospace engineer by background but I had never used CFD software before,” said Evan van Wolfswinkel, an engineer at Ceemo.

CEEMO Engineering develops and manufactures products for the racing industry such as airfoils, body panels and air boxes. In the past, CEEMO has contributed to the success of many racing teams by delivering products for Renault, BMW, Marcos, Lexus and Spyker racing cars.

“Since we had an extensive background in designing various aerodynamic parts for racing purposes, we decided to expand our portfolio by designing a new concept car,” explained van Wolfswinkel.

CEEMO’s primary goal was to analyse and improve the aerodynamics of the car chassis. Firstly, van Wolfswinkel checked the ground clearance. “The results revealed a remarkable amount of down force and explained how the downforce was generated,” he explained.

He further modified the design by adding a diffuser and adjusting the ground clearance in the front and the back of the car. He also reduced the drag by making the back rounder. “After seeing the simulation results, I realised that the change in the shape also reduced the down force and resulted in the diffuser losing its effectiveness. EFD.Lab was instrumental in helping me better understand the cumulative effects of my changes and solving the problem.”

The process of testing the body and improving it took about eight weeks. The car is still about two years away from production. “We’ve optimised the shape of the concept car and will be moving on to studying the suspension shortly,” explained Evan van Wolfswinkel.

Interested readers may watch a free EFD.Lab online demo at http://www.nika.biz/demo

To learn more about CEEMO Engineering and their services, go to http://www.ceemo.nl/