Running a car at speeds in excess of 550km/h presents numerous engineering and aerodynamic design challenges.
The fundamental challenge however is the Aerodynamics. How do you keep a car on the ground when the aerodynamic forces conspiring to lift it off the ground exceed the vehicles weight and conversly; how do you keep the car from pushing the wheels into the ground from excess downforce??? The shape of the car must keep these forces as neutral as possible.
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To evaluate the Aerodynamic performance of Jetblack we have engaged Canterbury University and the BlueFern supercomputer facility to carry out a computer based simulation. The process by which this is achieved is through Computational Fluid Dynamics or CFD. The CFD analysis simulates the moving ground underneath and the air flowing around the surfaces of the car.
Canterbury university has on its campus on of the most powerful research computers on the planet. BlueFern can perform trillions of calculations per second and enables research and analysis on the most complicated mathmatical problems such as nanotechnology, genome mapping and complex numerical weather prediction. Upon completion of the CFD analysis we will have lift and drag results and know if the car is aerodynamically safe at high speed. Further consideration will be given to wind tunnel or alternative forms of physical testing. |
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Running the simulations
To start using CFD to analyse the aerodynamics a computer based 3D model must be created. This model is then divided into tiny cells that cover the surface are of the car, this is called The Mesh. In the case of Jetblack, 2 million mesh cells are generated to interact with the airflow simulation. Each of these cells records its own pressures and all this information is used to determine lift and drag over the entire length of the car. |
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This picture is of the pressure distributions around the surfaces of the car. In this simulation the engine is in the off position and high pressure can be seen building up around the intake. |
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