Race car design was historically always influenced by streamlining the vehicle body,
particularly when the focus was on reducing high-speed air resistance. This trend
continued well into the middle of the 1960s, implying that aerodynamic vehicles are
also aesthetically attractive, an image that was somewhat altered by the discovery of
aerodynamic downforce and its effect on race car performance. The foremost and
simplest approach to generate downforce was to add inverted wings to the existing
race cars. However, this newly discovered advantage was not free of complications.
For example, the aerodynamic downforce increases with the square of the vehicle’s
speed whereas tires depend far less on speed. Consequently, if the inverted wings are
attached to the vehicle then the suspension spring rate must be stiffened to allow
for the additional high-speed loads. Variable downforce-generating devices followed,
mostly based on reducing wing or flap angle of attack at higher speeds. Another
32 Katz
Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 2006.38:27-63. Downloaded from arjournals.annualreviews.org
by UNIVERSITY
Race car design was historically always influenced by streamlining the vehicle body,
particularly when the focus was on reducing high-speed air resistance. This trend
continued well into the middle of the 1960s, implying that aerodynamic vehicles are
also aesthetically attractive, an image that was somewhat altered by the discovery of
aerodynamic downforce and its effect on race car performance. The foremost and
simplest approach to generate downforce was to add inverted wings to the existing
race cars. However, this newly discovered advantage was not free of complications.
For example, the aerodynamic downforce increases with the square of the vehicle’s
speed whereas tires depend far less on speed. Consequently, if the inverted wings are
attached to the vehicle then the suspension spring rate must be stiffened to allow
for the additional high-speed loads. Variable downforce-generating devices followed,
mostly based on reducing wing or flap angle of attack at higher speeds. Another
32 Katz
Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 2006.38:27-63. Downloaded from arjournals.annualreviews.org
by UNIVERSITY
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