From my initial calculations, I need to get downforce on the front drive wheels in order to get enough traction to be able to accelerate at an acceptable rate. I am starting the wing design using a symmetric airfoil (NACA 0006). Ideally, I want to be able to create a significant amount of downforce at low speeds, then decrease downforce coefficient at higher speeds. I do not want to create too much downforce at high speeds. This will put unnecessary strain on the car and will increase drag significantly. The goal is to keep enough downforce on the drive wheels to create enough traction to get up to speed quickly. The idea is to have a flap that will start off at a large angle (60 degrees) then decrease angle as the speeds increase. This will lower the lift coefficient (downforce coefficient in my case), but maintain a certain downforce on the drive wheels throughout the speed range of the car.
This is a rough mock up of how the wing will be placed on the car. Because the wing is so close to the ground, ground effect will increase the wings effective downforce coefficient.
Profile view of the NACA 0006 airfoil showing different degrees of flap.
Series of pictures illustrating how the flap will decrease in angle as speed increases:
Pictures of the X2 progress in chronological order
Friday, November 16, 2007
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