Head in the clouds

CFD is moving forward at a phenomenal rate. Racecar investigates the latest developments, including cloud-based computing

- Stewart Mitchell

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful numerical tool widely used to simulate many processes in the racecar environment. Recent progression in computing efficacy, coupled with a reduction in the cost of CFD software packages and the advent of cloud-based CFD operation, has advanced CFD as a viable tool to provide effective and efficient investigations for the full spectrum of motorsport.

In this article we will discuss the fundamentals involved in developing a CFD solution and provide a state-of-the art insight into various CFD developments applicable to the motorsport industry, as well as illustrate some of the physical models most commonly used in these applications.

CFD is a computer investigation into fluid dynamics. Personal computers can run CFD for moderate problems. However, the higher echelons of motorsport use clusters with up to thousands of cores and terabytes of memory as the complexity of the flow fields are immense.

The fluids under investigation can be either a gas or a liquid. When you're working with water, it's called hydrodynamics, and when you're working with air, it's called aerodynamics. The dynamics element refers to the fact the fluid is in motion, which can be caused by an object moving through them, or a thermal effect driving the flow.

Method man