areo question bending front wings help

[adam2007]

ok last year i remeber on here their was a red bull in slow motion going though a chince and the wing was like jelly do u remember? it was slow motion, now if that happens surley it destroys the airflow going to vitual parts of the car as wing bending all over the place? why is the wings etc not stonger so they dont bend and disrupt airflow??

thanks sorry about spelling

[Giblet]

design time + weight = strength.

The wing needs to pass flex tests from the FIA, but these tests are an application of pressure, not a sudden hit.

The wings do their best work when the car is running level and even, which was why active suspension was so dominating as a tool, and also why the mass damper that Renault used also made such a difference.

This is the video you were likely speaking of:

F1 Super Slo Mo

So, usually when you see the wing shaking so much, the car is bouncing over kerbs, where the balance will be upset regardless if the wing is shaking or not.

Also, the effects of the wings are minimal at the usually slow speeds they are running when bouncing over kerbs.

The effect of the wing remaining completely rigid will no be of great help when the car is bouncing up and down anwyay.

If the wing started to shake and reverberate to a natural frequency at a high speed, then it would be worth pursuing by the teams, as it would likely disintegrate.

[Mystery Steve]

Also, keep in mind the sampling frequency that they used to shoot the video. Another link to the same video says it's 1500 frames/second. That's the only reason we can even see this happening.

The flexing of the wing is a transient phenomenon, and if you look at it from a dynamic controls perspective it's like a quick step input (or steep ramp) and then return to zero very quickly. As with any dynamic system, there is a delay to inputs, and with the quick application and removal of the disturbance to the aerodynamics I would suspect any issues would be lost in the noise of all the other dynamics of the vehicle (tires, springs, etc). Like Giblet mentioned, this mainly happens when going over kerbs, so there are other suspension dynamics occurring simultaneously.

[ESPImperium]

It was after that footage where Toyota modified ther front wing with a little black spar to stabalise an element on the wing endplates.

Im expecting more of this 1500fps camera this year at a couple of tracks where theres tight chicanes.

I wissh i could find more of those videos.

[The FOZ]

I'd say that wing design in F1 is a compromise between stiffness and flexibility. Too stiff means when things have to move, they'll snap instead. Too flexible, and we get wings bouncing off the ground and loss of aero efficiency.

I'd be aiming to lighten up the extremities of the wings as much as possible, to lessen oscillation. But that's just my .02.

[The_Man]

It is not uncommon practice to use the flexure of the wings to your advantage, specially in the rear wing. Like I remember Toyota in controversy last year due to flexure in wing elements.

The wings are so designed that drag decreases with speed and so there is less drag on long straights.

[Mystery Steve]

True, the aerodynamic moment on the rear wing will cause it to rotate in the direction of less angle of attack as speeds increase. That's why the FIA regulates torsional rigidity.