"Bandit" (2bandit)
11/24/2013 at 17:47 • Filed to: educate me
2
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"Bandit" (2bandit)
11/24/2013 at 17:47 • Filed to: educate me | 2
| 30 |
I want to learn all about aerodynamics in automobiles. Do you have any links or writeups on this stuff? I don't really know much about the topic other than down-force is good, drag is bad, spoilers are like upside down airplane wings, and diffusers are magic that deals with pressure zones. I want to become a mechanical engineer in college with a focus on aerodynamics. I am really interested in motorsport applications and how the technology trickles down to road cars.
KnowsAboutCars
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 17:55 |
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I remember reading this interview from SH when it was published I don't remember how much actual information is there but it's interesting read anyway.
Dunnik
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 17:55 |
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Talking about aerodynamics is a drag.
Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 17:56 |
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Air is a fluid. Okay, that's far from the best place to start, and it's not always a helpful way to look at things, but the most basic way to understand aerodynamics mathematically is in fluid dynamics. Conceptually (the step before mathematically), the place to start is that in almost all cases, "Pressure bad". Read for fun some information on laminar flow, laminar effect wings, and cross-section optimization for the layman, if you can find it - some of my earliest reading on the topic was in some books on aircraft and other topics printed by LIFE magazine back in the 50s-70s and 80s (some fairly bland titles like "FLIGHT" or something). Your local library doesn't have terrible odds of having those or similar in the non-fiction section.
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Bandit
> KnowsAboutCars
11/24/2013 at 17:56 |
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Thanks!
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Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> Dunnik
11/24/2013 at 17:57 |
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Aerodynamics talk tends to flow better when it's all low-pressure.
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Dunnik
> Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
11/24/2013 at 18:01 |
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Did you see what happened on that show about aerodynamics?
Oh, right, no spoilers.
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Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> Dunnik
11/24/2013 at 18:04 |
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Actually, I saw that one. It tried to get a rise out of me - didn't succeed, but it lifted my spirits.
wacopalypsenow
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:12 |
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Aerodynamics are plastic things you buy at Autozone to soak High School panties when you pull into the local Dairy Queen.
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:12 |
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To understand how a diffuser works, take a piece of paper, fold it lengthwise, set in on a table with the edges on the table and the point of the fold up. It should look like a triangle. Blow air under it and observe what happens.
davedave1111
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:12 |
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You're a brave man. Have some light reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_dyn…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminar_f…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navier%E2…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_equa…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solution_…
scoob
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/24/2013 at 18:17 |
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It keeps flying away! I'm gonna have no pieces of paper left pretty soon.
Got any other method?
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Bandit
> davedave1111
11/24/2013 at 18:19 |
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Thanks!
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davedave1111
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:25 |
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You won't say that after you've had a look at those pages :)
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Bandit
> davedave1111
11/24/2013 at 18:27 |
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Yeah, I just scrolled through them... so. many. equations.
Tim (Fractal Footwork)
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:30 |
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Why not an aeronautical engineer?
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Bandit
> Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/24/2013 at 18:35 |
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That is also on the table. For the last few years I was planning on majoring in aero, but recently decided mechanical would be a better idea since there are more jobs available.
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davedave1111
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:43 |
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Aero's a bit of an odd field in that respect, because a lot of it's intuitive and practical, but all the modelling is ridiculously maths-heavy.
Wikipedia has a wonderful faculty for making maths look more complicated than it is, but fluid dynamics is notorious even outside Wikipedia for getting complicated fast.
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Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> davedave1111
11/24/2013 at 18:49 |
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I had good reason for trying to steer him toward sources other than Wikipedia. I thought about Wikipedia's tendency to describe things strictly in the most technically correct and in-depth of terms past the most basic knowledge, and went "hmm, no".
For intermediate knowledge (beyond basic, but still simplified) he may have some better luck elsewhere, but intermediate knowledge will be more difficult for us to tailor to his needs than either basic or expert - which is why I suggested he go to a library and look into layman studies books as were in vogue in the 60s-70s. He can keep the glazing over of his eyes to a minimum and duck out of theory to "look at pretty pictures" in the book as-needed.
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Bandit
> davedave1111
11/24/2013 at 18:49 |
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That's why I like it, it's practical. I want to become an engineer because I want to see things applied, not just thought about. I'm still not 100% sure what I want to focus on in college, but I definitely know I want to do something that has applications in automobiles/motorsports.
DasWauto
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:56 |
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Look up Scarbsf1
i-do-strange-things
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:59 |
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I have friends that run land speed record stuff. Those guys will talk aero till you go screaming from the room.
Heres one thing i found on my computer-go to the botom-theres a calculator to figure out all kinds of things. http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/aerohpcalc.htm…
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davedave1111
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 18:59 |
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If you're studying engineering, there's going to be quite a bit of maths to deal with anyway. My understanding is that aerodynamics is going to have a lot more than many other fields, but you'd want to check that with someone who's actually studied it.
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davedave1111
> Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
11/24/2013 at 19:07 |
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I think most of what I know about the subject these days has come via Wikipedia, so it's not that bad. But then I try and avoid the maths and concentrate on the concepts. Mostly it's stuff I've picked up in passing whilst reading about other things, so it's in context to start with; that helps a lot.
KillerRaccoon - Group J's Sébastien Loeb
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 19:24 |
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This guy explains all kinds of technical minutiae.
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Tim (Fractal Footwork)
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 19:25 |
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My friend was going to go into aero, but our school didn't offer it, so then he was planning on transferring, but then he just settled for mechanical.
My advice: just go for it. If you really want to be involved in aerodynamics, then go for that and don't settle for anything else, or else you'll never end up with your dream.
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KillerRaccoon - Group J's Sébastien Loeb
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 19:28 |
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This guy explains all kinds of technical minutiae.
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Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> scoob
11/24/2013 at 19:34 |
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Destructive Tester
> Bandit
11/24/2013 at 22:54 |
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It's all black magic and Adrian Newey is the Supreme Wizard...
Lachlan - #ForzaJules
> scoob
11/25/2013 at 01:56 |
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You aren't using 14 year old German paper by any chance are you?
2BWise
> Bandit
11/25/2013 at 11:08 |
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Here are two good books to start; Joseph Katz and Simon McBeath
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