.png)
By 
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Red Bull have made numerous revisions
to their Rear Wing support pylon throughout the season, with
Silverstone offering the backdrop for a further modification.
Changes to the 2014 regulations, outlawing the use of a 'beam wing'
has led to many differing design decisions by the teams, as they look
for both structural rigidity whilst maintaining aerodynamic
efficiency. In the case of Red Bull it was clear from the start that
the team wanted to run a singular support pylon, minimising the
effect the supporting element may have on the rear wing's mainplane
and top flap.
Ferrari who made widesweeping changes
to their rear wing pylon(s) in Barcelona also introduced a 'swan
neck' style pylon which appears to have inspired the boys at Red
Bull. The new pylon design mounted on the RB10 for Silverstone
traverses the mainplane and mounts to the front of the DRS actuation
pod. This is a sensitive area and relies on the teams follow strict
dimensional criteria in order to place bodywork here, this is due to
the changes made by the FIA when they outlawed the full length shark
fin engine covers and the 'F-Duct'.
The idea behind such a design is to
make the mainplane more efficient, as the pylon doesn't impinge upon
the lower surface. The pylon being placed on the lower edge of the
mainplane as used to be the case can lead to airflow separation,
which results in a loss of performance. This is especially critical
as the car is in yaw as any loss of airflow attachment results in
imbalance for the driver, this results in him having to back out
which of course further impacts performance.
Posts
0 comments