Matching the frequency of the tyres oscillation has a 2 fold effect: Tyres: As the car corners and exerts load into the tyres they begin to slip, if you can delay this slip then not only should you be able to extract more grip (by virtue of a bigger contact patch) but you will also over a sustained period see less degradation. Downforce: The damping of the chassis against the tyre deformation means that aerodynamically the car becomes more consistent, this of course means not only are Red Bull perhaps creating the most downforce on the grid, it isnt being spoilt by the natural movement of the car. The effects of resonance can be widesweeping and suffice to say that doing what I believe Red Bull have doing here would be beneficial in terms of both creating downforce and reducing drag. Having concluded that the Splitter is indeed in motion, albeit not being caused by the heat generated by the titanium skids transferring their heat into the upper face of the Splitter, we can now look at this with more certainty. The FIA deflection test is conducted in order to ascertain whether the Splitter moves upward as it hits the ground. What of course isnt tested is how much it droops when the stay resonates at the frequency of the tyres. The buckle that resides in the stay when its at rest allows the stay to deform at resonance therefore moving not only vertically but perhaps also horizontally pivoting in the opposing direction to the deforming tyres. Lets think of the movements of the car as it enters a corner: Braking: As the car decelerates the tyres deform, with the sidewall of the tyre squishing outward at the same time the stay would deform vertically, this also minimises the Splitters interaction with the ground (which due to Red Bulls Rake angle its already in close proximity) allowing a consistent level of airflow to pass over and under the splitter an onward to both the Diffuser and driving the airflow around the Sidepods. Turn In: Working in opposition to the tyres oscillation, the splitter and stay dampen the cars movements causing less rolling resistance and therefore hysteresis. As we know heat management of the Pirelli tyres is crucial in terms of degradation and so less hysteresis equals better degradation. As the tyres are having to perform less vertical work we can also assume that a net grip gain and loss of tyre slip is leveraged too. Apex Speed: Less resistance from the tyre and chassis equates to a more stable car and results in the driver being able to carry more speed through the corner. Top Speed: With the car able to carry much more speed throughout the cornering phase its therefore conducive to the car being able to attain a higher top speed. A peculiarity in the case of Red Bull who in terms of setup always tend to favour the generation of downforce. If you have been following my work this season though youll have undoubtedly noted how much Rear Wing angle the team have shed since the middle of the season. This is of course because downforce generated at the Rear Wing is dirty and invariably comes with a much larger drag penalty than the downforce generated in the Diffuser. By reducing the wing angle and changing the gear ratios the team have been able to become fast not only in the corners but on the straights too. So what was all that about with the Splitter heating up on the Thermal Imaging camera? Red Bull as we know run an aggressive amount of Rake which means occasionally under braking etc the Splitter and the plank housed within it could contact the ground. If this were to occur over a sustained period it would mean the car would fail the post scrutineering check which allows 1mm of the plank to be worn away. The titanium skids are placed under the plank to stop this wearing from happening and in the case of Red Bull it appears the heat is then transferred into the upper surface of the Splitter and dissipated, like a heatsink. This is why we see the team putting drill marks in the upper surface too as it helps to increase the surface area and promote the direction in which they want the heat to dissipate. If we were to look back at the history of the original Mass Dampers in F1 we would of course know that Renault pioneered the device that was subsequently copied by others before the FIA banned it. Its a name though that we really should turn our attention to; Rob Marshall, Red Bulls Chief Designer pioneered the original Mass Damper when he worked at Renault. So its no wild stretch then for the team to take advantage on an area of the car that worked so well in the past and redesign it for the prevailing trend / regulations / technology available. If youd like to cast your mind back to this time last year I also posed the same question on the aeroelasticity of Red Bulls nose in creating a similar effect. Rarely in F1 do we truly see an new innovation, the boundary pushing is usually a team taking a pre existing idea and applying it a new way, this I believe is another case of just that. So if they are doing it, is it legal? Well only Charlie Whiting and the boys can truly determine that factor but as the Stay is allowable in the technical regulations and only need pass the upward 200KG deflection test on the rig I dont see why it wouldnt be. Although just like the original Mass Damper if it were to be found in use does it constitute a Moveable Aerodynamic Device? Red Bull could argue just like Renault did that the device is moreover there to stabilise the car through harmonic matching. Why hasnt X,Y,Z copied it? Perhaps because they havent noticed it, someone has to start a revolution for there to be one in the first place... (Renault started the last one, in terms of Mass Dampers) or perhaps they have but just havent implemented it to the same level as Red Bull... Ferrari are their closest rivals who have a chance to, as they too run the metal Stay. Mercedes dont utilise a Stay, whilst Lotus use a Carbon Fibre one. Im guessing Red Bull had the option to run this at the start of the season, then swiftly found that the tyre construction wasnt conducive to its application or didnt yield as large a result as on the 2012 construction tyres. As we can see below Red Bull actually utilised a different stay prior to the change of construction mid season.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 11:06:22 +0000