Penumbra 2015 - 2017
Testing Penumbra At Ford Wind Tunnel No. 8
After collecting the necessary data, we used the flow visualization smoke to directly understand the flow structure. I was speechless.
Our team knew from CFD simulations that our solar car was not going to be very aerodynamic compared to other solar cars, but we knew we would have a much more practical design with features like the rear windshield and large hatch — important factors in the final score of our competition.
That large hatch design was the focus of our wind tunnel testing. We used different approaches, trying to push the separation point further back, using vortex generators, and using a trip strip but none of the methods was the silver bullet we were hoping for.
The data we collected from the wind tunnel allowed us to better model how our car would perform in races and it allowed us to compare our CFD simulations to real data.
Eliana 2018 - Present
Final Design Of Eliana's Aeroshell
This is my final design of the car the team is currently building. Covid-19 threw a wrench in our plans to have the car in the Ford Wind Tunnel earlier this year, however the team will be racing it at the American Solar Challenge 2021.
For Eliana, I was in control of the aerodynamic design process from start to finish. This responsibility meant that I had to teach myself things like surface modeling and CFD.
The first step of this process was brainstorming and concepting designs. I worked with our design lead to come up with some concepts. He drew and I surface modeled until we could agree on a design.
I used the solar car regulations and input from my team to layout constraints for my design. Then, I made a mockup of the compartment out of wood to verify the dimensions would fit a person comfortably.
The second most important part was the solar cells. Eliana uses satellite grade solar cells that have very high efficiency, but we are only allowed a certain number of them. It was important to ensure each cell had its place so that Eliana can gather as much solar power as possible.
Finally, I got to work optimizing my design by smoothing out the surface, analyzing it in CFD, and repeating. Learning STAR-CCM+ all on my own was a huge challenge, but by the end, I was confident with the software.
