Aerodynamic investigation of blunt and slender bodies in ground effect using OpenFoam

The main purpose of this numerical study is to assess the capability of OpenFOAM in predicting aerodynamic performance of blunt and slender devices for automotive and motorsport applications such as a diffuser-equipped blunt body and a F1 single element front wing in ground effect. Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations were carried out at different values of ride height and diffuser angle/angle of attack: predictions of integral quantities, such as drag (CD) and lift (CL) coefficients were validated against the available set of experimental data from Loughborough and Southampton Universities. Results put in evidence that OpenFOAM is suitable for fulfilling the goal of this study, even if the entire workflow (from meshing to calculation) is not user-friendly: the success of the simulations strongly depends on quality of the mesh, turbulence model, type of solver and numerical setup.