For 2014 the FIA have once again left the regulations open to interpretation hoping the teams would see them on face value. Of course the teams won't do this and instead opt for the most aerodynamically efficient manifestation of the regulations to satisfy their need for performance.
The image above perhaps depicts best the interpretation with which the FIA wished the regulations to follow, there are of course several factors however that dictate the teams will carve their own directions.
We must first look at the last few seasons and understand that teams have taken a path that allowed them to raise the tip of the nose to the highest point. This allows more airflow to be directed at the floors leading edge which is conditioned before reaching the Diffuser at the rear of the car.
The regulations now require the most forward point of the nose to be no higher than 185mm from the reference plane whilst it's highest projection can be no more than 250mm. Furthermore at a point 50mm rear of the tip it must project a surface area of at least 9000mm².
The next dimensional movement of the
goalposts that effects the nose is the lowering of the chassis'
bulkhead maximum permitted height, from 625mm to 525mm. Now not all
teams run to the maximum permitted heights but they certainly lie in
a position between those two dimensions. This will also have a knock
on effect aerodynamically but moreover change the drivers point of
view and angle he sits at in the chassis. As we can see from my
mockup above though there is still the viability to have the rear of
that portion of the monocoque at the 625mm height. To enable that
transition the use of a prescribed piece of laminate (or a vanity
panel) may be utilsed much like we have seen the teams implement this
year to disguise the 'Step Noses'.
Although in the image above I’ve
drawn the 'Vanity Panel' in a full wedge shape that traverses the two
maximum heights many other designs can/could be used to sculpt a
better effect from either the nose or the bodywork aft of it. I
think we are perhaps likely to see a tramline effect used by most to
guide the airflow centrally (below).
The lowering of the bulkhead height to
525mm also lessens the gap achievable between the underside of the
chassis and the reference plane, again reducing the airflow space
under the car by upto 100mm.
Moving back to the nose design and of
course we must discuss the controversial image that my colleague Craig '@ScarbsF1' Scarborough produced for Autosport a few weeks ago
Craig exposed the weakness within the
regulations that permit the use of a much thinner tip when compared
to the rear section of the nose. Although fairly ungainly in
appearance it does raise the questions in regard to the shaping of
the central portion of the nosecone which can then splay further
back. The use of a similar design will likely be fairly widespread
as with the loss of exhaust blowing at the rear of the car there is a
premium placed on getting airflow rearward into the Diffuser.
My original sketch of the 2014 noses
bears a large resemblance to Craig's illustration but also shows how
interpretation can lead to differences. For example we also have to
consider to the impact of other components like the Front Wing pylons
(the connection between the front wing and the nose) which can also
be shaped differently for a differing effect.
The crooks of the nose shape will very
much be determined by what the team can achieve in terms of the
internal crash structure. In the image above I've constructed the
type of structure the teams may be outwardly working from when
modeling their 2014 noses.
For 2014 the FIA have also curtailed
the use of the FOM camera housings to gain an aerodynamic advantage.
Red Bull have for some time now utilised the position of the camera's
either side of the Nose tip, whereas many others have positioned them
behind the central mandated section of mainplane to get an advantage
from an area that's designed not to get one. For 2014 the camera
housings position is set at 150mm to 450mm forward of the front wheel
centreline and between 525mm and 325mm above the reference plane.
I've marked out (roughly) the legality box in yellow on the diagram
above, however don't think that's the end of gleaning an advantage
from the camera housings. Although their position is dictated in the
regulations I'm quite sure teams will continue to leverage an
advantage from them depending on the shaping of their nosecone and
could even design them to sit within the frame of the nose to aid in
airflow distribution.
As with everything in Formula One most
of the designs seen in testing / early season will likely be very
similar. However there will be several designs that stand out as
different, it will then be a race to decide whom has applied the
regulations best and by changing the nose layout how it would affect
the aero balance of the car.
As an idea of how quickly a design can
evolve lets look back at the launch of the Red Bull RB5 which
featured a very slim and pointy nose, by the time team we reached
Silverstone in 09 it looked decidedly different. This was probably
in reaction to the changes to a DDD at the rear of the car but even
so it goes to show how changes need to be made to balance
performance.
The design of the nose still has
tremendous scope and so I could sit and draw out many variations but
here's a few more sketches I did just to highlight that fact, all of the sketches are far from refined but offer an insight into what's acheiveable.
Whilst in the same region it would be
rude not to talk about Turning Vanes too, these are the vertical
appendages employed by the teams beneath the Chassis/Nose.
Their design has of course become more
intricate since 2009 with teams now utilising upto 3 tiers in their
design for efficiency. The Turning Vane is utilised in order to
create both a barrier for the airflow spilling off the tyres
(especially in Yaw) but also to condition the centralised airflow
onward to the Splitter and Floor. Although the reduction in height
of the chassis obviously minimizes their installation height I still
suspect we will see them applied. Their positioning will very much
be dictated by the deformation of the tyres, as we have seen over the
last couple of seasons teams have started to move them rearwards
under the chassis.
I plan to get to as many of the 2014 car launches as is viable and also have an eye on making at least one of the tests. This however all costs money and so if you enjoy reading my blog and feel you can help to support financially I'd very much appreciate any donations you make (big or small). Donations can be made via the paypal button in the right hand side bar of the website.
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