Build Your Own Wind Tunnel

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

Andrew Green: It does look as though the track came to us, that’s for sure. Low downforce, low drag really is the way you want to look at it. The car seems to respond well to the lower downforce set-ups, that’s for sure. It is not something we actively pursue. We would like to make it a bit more of an even car as we definitely seem to struggle as we get to the higher downforce tracks which is where we have just come from. But it is nice to be a little bit more competitive. AG: I don’t think so. Adrian knows the track really well. It was just unfortunate he picked up a little bit of understeer on the exit of Turn Seven and once he got onto the dirty part he just kissed the wall. It was unfortunate he couldn’t complete the session. I am sure he would have done as good a job as Paul (di Resta). But I don’t think sitting out of the car this morning was any big deal for him. PL: The first zone is longer than the second and would be the natural overtaking place anyway. I think we will have to see how that pans out on Sunday. If you manage to make the overtake, which ordinarily would be possible in the first section, then DRS will just give you an advantage in the second section to extend the gap from the guy you just overtook - which may not be the required outcome. That may prevent a re-overtake should the guy not get the best speed through the final corner. But if you don’t make the overtake stick in the first section but manage to get very close, then the second section should help maybe to make it count. We will have to see. I mean it is the first time we have done it so it will be an interesting experiment. PL: Well that is what we would like to do obviously. We felt we had a good chance and nearly got the win in Monaco. If we can make one here that would be absolutely fantastic. Just the score we need to take us into sort of the second third of the season and to try and turn it around into a series of McLaren wins rather than the Red Bull wins. But from the performance today it is clear that other teams are looking quick as well. It could be very close so either way we will get an interesting race, but we hope to win it yes. Sam Michael: Yeah, I think over the last three or four races we have definitely started to qualify better. We still only have two points on the board but we have definitely turned it around from the first few races. We are getting a lot of parts onto the car that we really should have had on earlier but for various reasons we struggled to get them onto the car and make them work. But we took some good steps over the last race and another really good step today here in Canada in identifying those designs and making sure that they work properly. I am pretty hopeful that we can take another good step tomorrow here. It’s good as it gives the wind tunnel direction, it gives you focus inside the factory and the way it is going at the moment it’s a really nice direction. I think over the next couple of races with the parts we have got coming, which complement the bits that are working now - and I refer mainly to diffusers and front wings which are the primary devices on the car ¬- it is quite encouraging to see that turnaround and really understand and learn a lot about it.

Speed Articles: Make Your Own Wind Tunnel

Make a wind tunnel out of several boxes taped together with both ends open. The wind tunnel should be large enough that both hands will fit into it easily. Before taping the tunnel together, make one-inch divisions on the floor of the tunnel for measuring the distance that objects move when the wind current is applied. Have the students determine the ratio of the weight of the object (using a scale) to the distance it moves (in inches) when the fan is turned on. You can also have the students turn on the fan at different speeds to make a mathematical comparison between the force of the air and the distance the object moves. A: Wind-swept ridges and blowing cave mouths could be used to test airfoils. Before building their own wind tunnel, the Wright brothers employed an unconventional testing machine: a bicycle with a third wheel mounted horizontally on the front of the frame. Two test shapes were mounted on the wheel, and the bicycle was pedaled rapidly (up to 15 mph) up and down the streets of Dayton, Ohio. The airfoil being tested would produce a torque in one direction, but this was counterbalanced by an opposite torque from a reference shape. The rotating balance was brought into equilibrium by changing the airfoil's angle of attack.

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