In recent years, the possibility of a wind tunnel ban has highlighted a major issue in Formula One that needs to be addressed – should technological developments or low costs be prioritised for the future?
Though the high costs mean they’re off limits for most F1 teams, wind tunnels provide valuable information for those that can afford them.
Chris Sheffer, head of aerodynamics at Southampton University Formula Student Team, explained the value of a wind tunnel to a motorsports team.
“We would look to manufacture models; allowing for iterations to be tested as we go along our design process,” he told Read Motorsport.
“During some recent testing, we made some interesting findings related to airflow to our radiator, with overheating being a potential cause to our retirement in the Czech Republic last summer. The tests also give us a feel for the reliability and accuracy of our CFD [computational fluid dynamics] simulations.”
SUFST is one of the few British Formula Student teams with access to a wind tunnel. Both wind tunnel access and the team’s funding is primarily provided by the university Faculty of Engineering and the Environment.
Highlighting how much of a luxury wind tunnels are, however, access is still limited for the team despite the tunnels being run by the university faculty.
“Time and budget limitations currently restrict our use to validation purposes,” Sheffer explained.
Of course, Formula Student isn’t F1. The former clearly favours technological development over low costs, a decision F1 is yet to make.
“Although I support the use of wind tunnels for Formula Student, I can see why there might be cause for a ban in F1,” Sheffer said. “They are incredibly expensive to run and construct, surely putting off new teams.”
Sheffer would also argue that the accuracy of CFD in the sport also makes wind tunnels even less crucial in the top level of the sport.
“However, I would support the use of wind tunnels, as it provides more realism,” he said. “Since the aerospace industry began, it has always been a crucial part of designing.”
The cost and value of wind tunnels just prove F1 can’t be low cost and at the forefront of technological advancements at the same time. With funding problems becoming more and more commonplace, the question of what should be the priority needs to be addressed quickly and a decision to ban wind tunnel testing or at least restrict usage would go some way to doing that.
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