F1 Aerodynamics - 3: Slots, Diffusers, Bargeboards, S-duct

[@averagejoe7860]

the thing i love about F1 is how every single detail from tires, to controls, to strategy, and everything else has been thought over endlessly and is constantly being optimized

[@ChrisC7498_]

Do i need to say "Great Video" or is it just implied at this point?

[@heylolp9]

ChrisC7498 Gaming it's implied why do you ask?

[@grendelum]

ChrisC7498 Gaming - while implied I imagine it’s still appreciated... great video *Chain Bear !!!*

[@stardaggerrihannsu2363]

This is quality, KZbin should pay him!

[@chainbear]

Had to turn everything to a 3/4 angle for the most part as the usual side-on angles wouldn't be sufficient for a clear animation. So I hope some of the new art styles I tried here were clear enough?

[@roelfrizzle]

Good drawings. If you can put a little bit more detail on specific parts you want to explain why they are thet shape, that would be awesome! Great videos you make, with the simplest and best explanaition on KZbin. I think I am beginning to understand fluid dynamics a bit due to these vids. Thanks!

[@dabeetus1150]

I thought your 3/4 section was fantastic! Keep up the good work!

[@kwgm8578]

Rear endplate discussion was quite clear. All three videos are good stuff for the technically inclined.

[@dertodestoaster1509]

Could you do a small video, to explain Renaults Exhaust solution and how it affects airflow under the rear wing? Great video as always. I liked the 3/4 style and had no issues, to understand your explanation. Keep it up!

[@underscore8085]

Chain Bear F1 Can you explain why Ferrari has those weird mirrors?

[@thanosdk5669]

As a mechanical engineering student who is going to attend Formula Student , I have to say i love you channel. Keep up bro ❤

[@arundhatisayshi9125]

+1

[@clvrcmst]

Haha 5years later but same !

[@thanosdk5669]

@@clvrcmst nice!

[@skpist]

​@frikadel4972 what's formula student 🤔

[@clvrcmst]

@@skpist it’s an international competition made for engineering schools, where teams of students make their own single-seater and compete in summer against other teams

[@forzaelite1248]

Someone hire this man for a segment in F1!

[@georgegreen5791]

Who said he isn't hired though :)

[@ser_loony7137]

The credits music is a cover from the original portal soundtrack!

[@GabbieTheFox]

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying 'till you run out of cake. And the science gets done and you make a neat gun for the people who are still alive! :D

[@paintingjo6842]

I swear, I've learned more about air dynamics with these three videos than anything I've ever gathered through the Internet and in an extensive physics course.

[@reistheracer6646]

This "F1 Aerodynamics" serie is fantastic, man! Thank you! Your channel is one of the best F1 channels on KZbin. Good job.

[@R4u7ph]

Hey Stuart, great video as always. Could you make a video exclusively about Ground Effect? Like, why it was banned and why is there some discussion for it to come back to F1. Of course, the ground effect exists, but is not properly exploited by the aerodynamicists due to the actual F1 rules. Thanks for the video and you're amazing.

[@SuperFoz]

I'm not sure but I believe the reason why some want it back is because unlike with wings the dirty air of cars in front shouldn't be an issue, or at least as much

[@R4u7ph]

Yeah, lot of the drivers complained about the dirty air last year. I mean, if ground effect helps F1 being more competitive, do that. Seems more simple and cheap than changing the whole engine spec again.

[@almarma]

If I recall it right, ground effect in the way it was used by Lotus was like a suction cup, sticking the car to the ground on the straight lines and in the turns, but the problem was that the car was so dependant on it that if the effect was lost (by hitting a bump or another car), the car would fly away, so it got banned for safety reasons. Today's cars also produce ground effect, but not in that hermetic almost perfect way, so the car is not totally dependent of it.

[@jubuttib]

Keep in mind that flat floors and diffusers are still creating "ground effect", it's the same effect as before, they've just limited the ways in which it can be generated, not allowing full car length underbody Venturi tunnels anymore. Some reasons why it was "banned" (limited): Back in the early days of late 70s and early 80s they were great at generating high amounts of downforce, but weren't too good at making it stable with varying car attitude (rake, ride height, body roll, etc.), and some cars were prone to what's known as "porpoising", where the car would get sucked down, altering the ride height, which would then reduce downforce via e.g. starving the underbody air flow (or alter the distribution, perhaps making the rear end squat more than the front), which would raise the car, which would help feed the underbody airflow, rinse and repeat, causing the cars to kind of wobble around with the fluctuating aero forces. These days we understand these things much better, and can design underbodies that aren't anywhere near as sensitive and behave more stable. In all honesty a lot of this was already solved by Group C and IMSA GTP prototypes, which heavily used underbody Venturi tunnels etc. to great effect without major issues. The prototypes/GTs that flipped at Mulsanne came nearly a decade later and due to other reasons. Heck, we have people designing ground effect _road cars_ these days, they wouldn't be even considering that if they weren't sure they can design them to be stable. =) They were seeing a suddenly exploding amount of downforce compared to what they'd had before, and one that was (as mentioned above) often very sensitive and could me lost in an instant. Combine that with the relatively low grip levels of tyres back then and you have a recipe for scary situations. It does make sense that they'd ban it. These days we're making more DF than they had back then anyway from the underbody and wings, and our tyres are also so much better (put an 80s F1 on modern tyres and it'll go many seconds quicker just due to pure mechanical tyre grip alone), that in combination with the more stable aerodynamic behavior we can create anyway I doubt it'd be a really huge problem. I do think that moving towards more underbody aero and less wing aero is the way to go in many ways. The main reason why front wings in particular are so insanely overdesigned is that they want and need to create vortices to extract whatever performance they can from the heavily regulated underbody. Radically simplifying the wings so that they're not generating such overwhelmingly strong vortices while relaxing underbody regulations to enable cars to make more use of it should help reduce the effects of dirty air significantly, making the aero more efficient overall (efficiency is good, right?), helping in part to provide for better racing.

[@alanyammine5192]

It's coming back in 2022😁🤘🏼

[@tyderry624]

Holy cow. This is probably the best aero description I’ve ever seen, and put in relatively simple terms. Fantastic job!

[@linovettel]

I am currently reading Adrian Neweys Autobiographie "How to build a car" and early in the book he is writing about the ground effect you were mentioning in this video. I kinda got behind it while reading it but your videos help me understanding a lot of the aerodynamic parts of the book and actual F1 cars. Thanks for the great work you are doing. Keep it up

[@sagnym]

It's crazy how complicated and amazing the aerodynamics of an F1 car is. This really shows how hard people have worked to get to this point.

[@bombapples1]

Haha the end card song is "Still Alive" from Portal

[@FrankDyke]

Be very skeptical of any offers of cake from ChainBear.

[@johnrupesh4535]

I am speechless. Your way of explaining is just amazing.

[@Hot-Dog-Racing]

I wonder how elevation, humidity, and temperature affects aero 🤔

[@cliffordbradford8910]

So these things particularly temperature and elevation drive the air density. Density goes up with increasing air pressure (decreasing altitude) and down with increasing temperature. The aerodynamic forces are proportional to density (all else being equal) so on a hot day in Mexico (highest altitude track AFAIK) you get less down force and drag. Interestingly with a turbo car the engine power isn't necessarily affected as much by altitude (atmospheric pressure) as the turbo can provide boost to bring the power up to close to sea level power. So Mexico might be a great place for straight line speed (normal engine power & low drag) but you won't brake or go around corners as well (low down force). I would expect in Mexico they would set the car up for more down force (i.e. higher angles of attack on the wings etc) than they would on the same track at sea level.

[@guanweihe7614]

Ok so Downforce is air pushing down ( very simplified ) So if air is denser,there should be more downforce So cooler,lower air ir more optimal Idk about humidity

[@hell5torm]

@@guanweihe7614 3 years late, as humidity increases density of air decreases as the water particles take up some of the space that could be taken up my air particles. So you want high pressure, dry, cool air for best aerodynamic performance. It’s also the same for engine performance, for best power output you want high pressure, dry, cool air.

[@stevekindo7604]

I absolutely love the series. Its answered so many questions that i had. Wouldn't mind to see the series live on a bit longer

Probably the best channel about F1

[@silentblackhole]

This is the best video (series) on aero I've seen.

[@abdurrahmanhashmi1081]

Best explanation i've ever seen on car tech. Great video.

[@1barnet1]

Incredible how 30 minutes of video can teach one more then a month at high school.

[@mitoand9]

Great vid. I would suggest changing the explanation at 0:39 though. Wing vortices induce a downwash (decreased angle of attack), which tilts the lift vector (in this case downforce) to the rear of the car, thereby decreasing downforce and increasing drag. It's much simpler when you visualise it this way imo. For those who are interested in this, just look up lift-induced drag.

[@louisd.4010]

Triple A quality! Clear explanation and great visuals

[@davids7289]

Your videos are getting better and better and the animations look really good, and are easy to understand. Thanks very much!

[@vigneshwarrajc6629]

One of the most informative series about Aerodynamics. Hope you would extend the series based on your new findings as time passes.

[@SandeepM8]

well u helped us during the whole winter season with ur videos

[@bavvy]

I loved this series of videos! I understand the F1 car a lot better now!

[@samsupra]

those 3 aerodynamics video were awesome !! Good job!

[@aaronj84]

Excited to hear you’re planning on mid season content. Something I’ve looked for in the past is mid-weekend analysis of Qualifying results, a breakdown of who succeeded what and what it portends for the race itself. Content like this would have a short shelf life, but fills a gap for which there is currently nothing (that I’m aware of)

[@joseph-ow1hf]

Thanks for the excellent series. Well done mate.

[@jespermug1581]

I keep getting flabbergasted about how good this channel is..

[@milanandrys4568]

Beautifully explained

[@chemicheto]

Great series of videos, as an aerospace engineer I enjoyed it a lot

[@katiejackson3900]

The S-duct on an aircraft is typically 2 curve, not an S, does the same job and is called a slot. The slot is created by a slat, which is a small foil on the front of a larger one. It is typically cut from the foil shape of the one it attaches to, so it can sit flush against it in level flight, but when the pressure on the wing tip lowers, the spring loaded slat moves forwards and re-energises the air on the top of the wing, delaying a stall. The slat is typically seen at the wingtip, so that even when the wing root (the bit close to the fuselage) has fully stalled, the aileron have not, allowing a controlled stall, and one which is less violent, until the whole wing stalls, typically 1 side before the other, and a spin is induced. This is BAD news. But anyone with common sense will feel the aircraft shaking from the buffeting caused by the stalled roots and stop pulling on the stick. Most current fighter jets have them, as well as the BF109, Mig-3, and the Lavochkin fighters after the La-5. The US and the UK did not usually have them, although the Westland whirlwind had them, as well as the Lysander. They are very useful on STOL aircraft too.

[@laurencef8535]

Also used on commercial airliners, during take of and landing in the addition of flaps to allow a larger angle of attack before stalling the airfoil, this allows the pilot to take of earlier and at a steeper angle. The flaps just elongate the wing so it can generate more lift but also more profile drag, hence why they put them away again after the intiail climb

[@engandautclan]

Incredible video series. I never thought I'd have such an enhanced understanding after just 20 minutes!

[@hannimenl7123]

Amazing how these things work.

[@AdriaanStoopid]

This video is great! Quick, to the point and clear, love it!

[@louismarsh469]

Brilliant series of videos mate! Well done !

[@BoosterBoy101]

A great little series.

[@sagark97]

Incredible job to explain all aero jargons for F1 newbies like me. A big❤️

[@mertcanhasgul7549]

You saved my life bro, I was trying to understand this and you explained it really simple!

[@Thiago100Zwetsch]

Nice series!! These videos are all awesome!!

[@GosfordLawrence]

Love your videos man. LOVE.. I have some basic understanding of what you spoke about, but this series made it extremely clearer, lol. I would like to request a video on aerodynamics and the different effects and team choices for different tracks. Like low down force tracks and high downforce tracks and the reason they use high downforce settings for tracks that are physically high.

[@ArchmageNydia]

I've always been fascinated by aero, and these videos shed a lot of light to simplify what a lot of it does! Thank you! Perhaps it's a bit out of your realm, but I'd love to see a video showing some bits and bobs of assorted aero and how they work, like the ridiculous "X-wings" for Ferrari and BMW's "Twin towers" that popped up in 2007, and the crazy sidepod bits and bobs that cars had up 'til around 2009 when they were simplified and smoothed. Maybe something about the blown and double diffusers from the late 2000s, or the weird spindly "T-wing" that a couple cars had in the 2010s. Possibly something about the "Shark fins," and why they were banned in 2018, but are actually now required in LMPs? Either way, looking forward to your next video! :D

[@jaysuneakle]

Amazing videos. I learned so much. Thank you for making these complex topics easier to understand.

[@JakobusVdL]

Thanks Chainbear, your videos really explain the basics of F1 aerodynamics really well. Am i correct in assuming that the reason that the front wings, barge boards, vortex generators, louvres etc appear so numerous and so intricate is that with air molecules being so small, the air needs a lot of delicate 'steering' to get it to do what the designers want?

[@chrisparry1216]

Awesome 3 videos. Helped me out a lot and you explained it perfectly. Simple and understandable.

[@kithowells8017]

You need to update this for 2022 season

[@15october91]

Looking forward to episode 4.

[@deepak_nigwal]

great work and animation as always, thank you

[@cory96777]

Keep up the great work, Chain Bear!

[@simantakdabhade4770]

Amazing video I never knew what’s s-duct was and was confused by everyone talking about it until I saw this video. Very helpful keep it up

[@draconicdusk5911]

I love these videos dude, keep up the awesome work!

[@Jagarchitect]

This was a fantastic empirical series. Even if you know everything the first video has to offer, it’s great to see it build into practical use cases for formula one. Bravo & thank you 👏

[@AishaFPS]

I literally just finish watching ep1 and 2. And this came up! Fantastic!!

[@Rafaelmtelles]

Amazing video, I've learning so much on this series! Looking forward for more! From Brazil!

[@chirayuthammarit1492]

Thx for making this. For me, it makes me understand how the F1 car works. 👍

[@tobir8417]

Just watched the video now and it's such a nice series and explanation! Greetings from Germany!

[@arifracin]

We want more of these kind of videos from you

[@fabiocabral5492]

I'm always excited about your videos, mate

[@paulwallin5311]

Awsome video Chain Bear F1, Keep up the good work.

[@taslimarefinkhan9177]

Great video once again! Now requesting you to cover "car setup" and all the tune ups that teams do for each different circuits and drivers talk about in the pre and post race interviews. Thank you for making these amazing videos.

[@illanr.n.945]

So good. I've spent quite some time looking for this info and it is all summarized here. Really really good video (well, the 3 of them are great).

[@bugatti1996v]

Again hats off to ur work

[@danielcollin6692]

As a massive formula 1 fans , your videos are really a pleasure to watch a i just hope youp keep going !! bigs thanks and well done

[@clayz1]

Great video, I learned a whole bunch here. F1 car shapes have sure changed over the years. It seems the last few years have been more refinements on what has become the current F1 car aerodynamic. Wonder what they will look like in ten years. More of the same? Or something that hasn’t been thought of yet? Pretzels with propellers? It will be interesting whatever it is.

[@the.flying.adventure]

watching race car aerodynamics makes aircraft aerodymanics seem so much simpler!

[@TJSURLA]

Sir, can you do an F1 2018 Begginers Guide so we can share it to people who's interested on the sport. You are one of the best when it comes to creating videos and explanation.

[@lordsuch5762]

I read that as flows through the diffuser ,due to conservation of mass flow ...the air slows and pressure increases ,so that by the time it exits the diffuser the pressure is atmospheric . This explains why the production of downforce by this means does n't produce the drag ,..which the wings do .

[@penart8079]

About the diffusers, most of the videos that I have watched about them contradict where you stated the low pressure is. Most of them state that the back end is of high pressure, and the underside of the car is of low pressure as the air is moving faster.

[@ethownzbh]

Well no and yes. The diffuser still has a lower air pressure than the air flowing over the car but a higher pressure than the air flowing underneath floor of the car. So the diffuser is still considered a low pressure zone (which is why he called it a "low pressure zone" and the air underneath the car a "very low pressure" zone). Both are lower than ambient and the high velocity air under the floor is the lowest pressure zone.

[@atharvachodankar5253]

good going man Excellent videos

[@alygohar7972]

Very informative!! Great video!!

[@Deft78440]

Mindblowing. Thanks !

[@gagafgag]

Loved the outro song, keep up the good work :)

[@zosterinski]

truly great series, thanks a lot!

[@luishenriquesousa7956]

Jesus m8,...This 3 videos were so GOOD! Superb job! Know I do understand air flow and vortices, etc...! Tks :D

[@soraaoixxthebluesky]

As far as I know the strakes under the diffuser work as a vortex generator to seal the underbody from tyre jet not as per your understanding. I might be wrong tho. And also as far as I know the end plate pressure bleeder work as a drag reduction element in expense of reducing overall rear end downforce.

[@skyscall]

I want to see an entire video devoted to explaining the aerodynamics of one specific car. Preferably a Ferrari F2008 because 2008's F1 cars' aero systems were absolutely insane, and Ferrari is basically F1 legend at this point. Take a look at the BMW-Sauber F1.08. It's got wings on wings on wings! '08 had the sexiest cars.

[@josecarlosp11]

As always, love your explanations, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!!

[@jatinkuknoor6736]

Hey I have a doubt, It is clear up to the point where high pressure air moves to the low pressure area. But how will the air move back to the high pressure area? ( causing wing tip vortices ) @1:16.

[@ludwigvanel9192]

Thanks! I now understand why barge boards are used. After so mmany years...

[@andcunsan]

Very clever devices ! This is Engineering indeed!

[@sychugo]

Excelent video!

[@Hot-Dog-Racing]

Hey you should do a video on aerodynamic modeling like CFD and how the pitot tube aero rakes work. Would be interesting to see how they use these data collected from aero rakes to build computer models. Maybe how wind tunnel models and sensors work too? Love the videos and the regular uploads!

[@michaelgirvine]

Thank you for the best video yet! Inspired me to join your Patreon, just wish I could do more. Thank you for making me a more informed F1 fan!

[@MrLocuelo11]

Genial serie, me ha sido de muchísima ayuda en mi trabajo de universidad sobre aerodinámica. Ojalá mis profesores explicaran así. Gracias

[@martinlaursen4020]

Firstly, I really enjoy your videos! Very informative and great animations! So bear with me for a bit (no pun intended) since this has little to do with F1, only aerodynamics. Say you're directing airflow over a radiator. At what point does is stop 'cooling' the radiator. Is there a lower limit to what speed to be going for the air to effectively cool the radiator. Say you're going slow, like between 10kmh/6mph - 20kmh/12mph.

[@logdroppersavant3683]

Though the louvres and the end plate's shape are more concerned with controlling the impact of the vortices on drag, I would attribute the primary existence of the end plates to reducing efficiency losses of the wing in terms of downforce creation, rather than solely to reduce drag (though, you always aim to reduce it, drag is, by and large, inescapable when producing downforce - exert a change in direction or force on air to create downforce and it will exert a change in direction or force onto you). High pressure flow above the wing spilling over into the low pressure flow below the wings reduces downforce (and the efficiency of the wing), which the end plates aim to prevent. Of course, in doing so, it also curtails large vortices.

[@Carbon762]

Great video! I wonder, since there are vortex generating barge boards now doing something like what skirts used to do, how much benefit would a modern F1 car get if you simply added skirts and changed nothing else?

[@michaelastockbauer672]

Great explainations! Really great! Maybe you could have added some more details of the vertical strakes (preventing the air to move sidewards at the rear of the car), but anyway - almost perfectly explained aerodynamics!

[@j.j.schlachtfeld9325]

Damn, that Toro Rosso looks good

[@KomboAndy]

ah, still alive. luv that song

[@alastairjones0]

Great vid 👍🏻

[@aominedaikii4559]

Hey @chainbear, would love to watch an explainer video on 2022 aerodynamics and how new parts(changes) work

[@GeneralDestroyQc]

I just dicovert your channel it's really cool i am more a nascar fan my self but it's cool to discovert a different racing philosophie :D

[@sebastiaanloriaux2568]

Lovely video once again! I realy hope you gain some speed in views and subs, you deserve it. Are there any plans to reveal what you do in your daily life? A q&a or anything, I think we are all wondering :p

[@stormillion5002]

amzing explenation

[@genrepolice]

Lovely video!! LIke the angle of the animations :). One question, the little spoiler thingy at the end of the exhaust you showed in one of the final pictures are banned for 2018 right?

[@alessandroarizaluski9178]

not, only reduces dimensions

[@thespuditron9387]

Damn I love these videos. Great job man. 👌🏻

[@GoonerPhil4]

Insane how you keep producing top quality videos with so much detail that even beginners like me can understand it. What qualifications do you have so you know this much detail because this is not a Wikipedia job?

[@tobysfig]

Learnt so much! thanks