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Second wind tunnel for Renault

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manchild
manchild
12
Joined: 03 Jun 2005, 10:54

Second wind tunnel for Renault

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http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/search ... cility.php
cotswoldjournal wrote:Chipping Norton - Full speed ahead for F1 test facility

RENAULT'S Formula One team has won approval to site another wind tunnel to test the aerodynamics of its Grand Prix cars at the Whiteways Technical Centre at Enstone.

The facility near Chipping Norton already has one wind tunnel but the team wanted to move a similar tunnel in Italy to Whiteways so both are on one site.

West Oxfordshire's Uplands area planning committee has given permission subject to no objections being received from Oxfordshire County Council's ecologist.
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Most F1 teams require the testing times of two wind tunnels to meet their racing and development programmes.

Renault said no cars will be involved as the testing facility is purely electronic, using three-dimensional computer models and software packages which simulate airflow.

The plan has run into an objection from one resident in the nearby hamlet of Radford, who complained that the new facility would mean more vehicle movement on sub-standard roads and could result in more light pollution.

She also pointed out to the committee that the Whiteways site, formerly a quarry, was already a similar size to Radford and questioned how big the council was willing to allow the site to become.

Renault employs 536 people at the site, including 47 who work at night, and the new wind tunnel will mean an extra 15 jobs.

The new wind tunnel will be partly undergound, built into a mound, with an auditorium above for presentations, a reception area, and a hub room to accommodate the computer network. An additional 27 parking spaces on the site will need to be provided.

Renault told the council it is committed to reducing carbon emissions and the impact on the local community.

It said a car sharing scheme on site was being used by 15 per cent of staff. It had also undertaken measures including energy efficient lighting, a waste recovery programme to save 40 tonnes a year and the installation of a sewage pumping station to save large tankers driving to the site to collect sewage.

Renault is currently fourth in the F1 constructors' championship and lead driver Gian Carlo Fisichella is sixth in the drivers' championship.
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Saribro
Saribro
6
Joined: 28 Jul 2006, 00:34

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Did I read that correctly, a wind tunnel without wind, a tunnel, or even actual cars?
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joseff
11
Joined: 24 Sep 2002, 11:53

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For shame, manchild! The title should be "Renault to install supercomputer"
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ss_collins
ss_collins
0
Joined: 31 Oct 2006, 15:59

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Hi Sam,

This is a non-story that doesn't even merit a piece.

A planning application has been approved for a comms building next to the wind tunnel - hence the confusion. However this is purely a planning formality, and no project has yet been signed off, and it may not even happen.

The story came from a journalist who didn't consult us, and grabbed the wrong end of the stick after seeing an approved planning application.

Hope that clears things up.

Bradley Lord
Senior Press Officer
Renault F1 Team


A cover up? no I doubt it - this is a non story
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scarbs
scarbs
393
Joined: 08 Oct 2003, 09:47
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

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Renault have no plans for a second tunnel, Dino Toso told me they would focus their resources on CFD as a devleopment tool.
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Tom
0
Joined: 13 Jan 2006, 00:24
Location: Bicester

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friends in high places you wo :wink:
Murphy's 9th Law of Technology:
Tell a man there are 300 million stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch to be sure.
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DaveKillens
DaveKillens
34
Joined: 20 Jan 2005, 04:02

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Renault has announced a major $50 million technology investment programme at its Enstone base. The long-term programme will include investment in a brand-new Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) facility, which will provide the team with ten times its current capacity in this area and create an industry benchmark that will stand among the top 100 global computing facilities.

"This programme of technology investment in the team sends a strong signal about our commitment to a competitive future in Formula 1," said team boss Flavio Briatore. "Each investment will be carefully and efficiently managed in line with the sport's future regulations, to derive maximum benefit for the team, our partners and the wider group."

Technical director, Bob Bell added, "We are delighted to announce the construction of the new Enstone CFD Centre. While other teams have invested in costly second wind tunnels, we believe that CFD is a technology of the future that will be integral to the design and development of more efficient vehicles. This new centre will allow us to push the existing technological boundaries, and to develop new techniques and skills that will have applications far beyond the race tracks of the future."
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2007/07/ ... on-in-cfd/
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