Magazine - bionic surface technologies GmbH

Magazine
Fluid Dynamics & Bionic
in the Red Bull Air Race
www.bionicsurface.com
Red Bull Air Race – Peter Besenyei
Efficiency with bionic surfaces? CFD-simulations
that achieve more than trial and error tests?
Development of a racer in less than 6 months?
The Red Bull Air Race is famous for its daring stunts,
the high speed and the extraordinary performance of
the pilots. In the background of the show technicians
and developers work on the aircrafts to get them faster
and faster for the show. In the season 2015 bionic
surface technologies has worked together with the
team of the Hungarian pilot Peter Besenyei. Peter
Besenyei is deemed as the inventor of the Red Bull Air
Race and as he is participating himself in the race, he is
interested to optimize his aircraft the best way possible.
The cooperation of bionic surface technologies and
Team Besenyei was the start of a project, which goal
was the development of the fastest and most efficient
aircraft of the Red Bull Air Race. Within three months
the development was finished and the aircraft was, after
the assembly and several tests, ready to use in the race.
At the beginning of the project there were two
possible aircrafts to use: the existing racer (Corvus
Racer 540) and a second model (Zivko EDGE V3).
Both aircrafts were analyzed with the help of CFD-
3D-mesh of the aircraft
Left: Zivko EDGE V3, right: Corvus Racer 540.
Original, model and CFD-simulation.
simulations to be able to make a decision which
aircraft to take. Special attention was given to the
different streamlines. Through the precise calculations
a decision for the Zivko EDGE could be made, as it is
the more aerodynamic model.
The whole aerodynamics of the aircraft and even
hardly visible flows were made visible using CFDsimulations. Through the analysis different parts of
the racer became apparent, which need aerodynamic
optimizations.
The cowling of the racer was one area needed to be
changed basically. The cooling inlets play an important
role, because the position and size of the inlets have
a large influence on the whole aerodynamics of the
aircraft. Several models were designed and tested
in their specific operating points. The best model
was chosen and through the optimizations a better
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streamline shape of the cowling was achieved.
optimizations contribute with the minor optimizations
of the wheel panels to an increase of efficiency and
speed in the race.
Another area of the aircraft that was
optimized was the wingtips. The
Aero-optimization
wingtips play an extraordinary role
Additionally the fairings of the
of
the
aircraft
components
in the aerodynamics of the racer. In
aircraft were analyzed and different
this case the wingtips were specially
models were made. Through
designed for the race conditions.
the CFD simulations it became
The better the aerodynamics
obvious that the existing fairings
match with the outer conditions,
already had a good aerodynamic
more efficiency,
the more advantage has the pilot in
performance,
so they were not
less fuel consumption,
less CO emission
the race and the easier is the aircraft
changed.
to handle in the race. Challenging for
the development of the ideal wingtips was
the limited length of the whole wing, as the
pilot would have problems in passing the pylons in the
After the calculations and analysis of the different
race. In designing the wingtips various models have
parts of the aircraft, the whole aircraft was simulated
been made to test different models and so the ideal
again with CFD simulations. It became obvious that
model for the racer was chosen.
through the optimizations it was possible to achieve an
increase in efficiency of 13%.
+13%
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But that was not the
end of the optimizations
– further 4% increase in
efficiency were achieved
in using bionic surfaces
on the wings of the racer.
The micro- and nanostructured surfaces are
similar to the skin of
a shark and also have
structures like the shark.
These structures reduce
Optimization of the motorsports aircraft Zivko EDGE V3 by simulation of various models.
the drag in water and
Expensive and time-consuming development using prototypes is no longer necessary.
air and the shark is able
to swim faster and more
efficiently. This advantage
was used in the construction of the aircraft and so the
efficiency and speed were increased. The shark skin or
The canopy of the racer was also modified with CFD
so called riblets contribute also to a reduction of the
simulations. Similar to the wingtips, the cockpit was
fuel consumption.
also optimized for the special race conditions and these
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Before the riblets were applied to the surface, they
were analyzed through CFD simulations. Different
structures were used in different areas of the
aircraft and so the drag of the aircraft was
reduced ideally.
moment special focus is on the winglets which are
used by more and more pilots. Two types of drag are
affecting the plane during the flight: profile drag
and induced drag. Profile drag results from
the shape of the object and the structure
of its surface. Induced drag is related
Implementation of
to the changing direction of the
riblet surfaces
flow around the wing which is
influenced by the angle of attack.
It decreases at higher speed while
the profile drag increases. Winglets
smooth the airflow around the
more efficiency,
wing
and so reduce the induced
less fuel consumption,
less CO emission
drag. The plane can be turned faster
what can bring the decisive advantage.
The racer was produced as
planned and afterward stuck with
the riblet structures. The aircraft
celebrated world premiere on
July 4th 2015 as it was first used
in an Air Race. Peter Besenyei flew
straightaway to the 6th place as an
underdog. The optimized aircraft stood
the praxis test, Peter Besenyei now has to
implement the technical advantage in results in the
race.
+4%
Aerodynamic optimizations are gaining popularity
in the Red Bull Air Race as the standardized engines
and propellers do not leave any room for that. At the
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There is a difference between optimized wingtips
and winglets, which are both used in the Red Bull
Air Race. Optimizing wingtips means improving the
aerodynamic performance of the standard plain wings
while winglets are a complete remodeling of the wingtip
in vertical direction. There are various different shapes
aiming for a reduced lift-induced drag.
The aerodynamic improvements of Peter Besenyei’s
aircraft have been verified by tests and were finally
reached in praxis.
Manufacturing of the aero-optimized Zivko EDGE V3
Red Bull reports on „Winglet-Wars at Spielberg“ after this
year‘s race in Austria.
http://www.redbullairrace.com/en_AT/article/wingletwars-spielberg
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bionic surface technologies itself
could turn to account the experience
gained in this project. It already finds
expression in a wind power project
and other R&D-projects relating
to CFD and bionic surfaces, which
will lead to practical applications in
future.
Peter Besenyei sitting on the Zivko EDGE V3 at the Red Bull Air Race in Texas:
aero-optimized and equipped with riblet surfaces.
These projects prove the high
relevance of development in highend products like motorsports and
space flight, as it usually paves the
way of new technology into everyday
products.
Example of use of riblet surfaces: airpower and aviation.
Imprint
bionic surface technologies GmbH
Brockmanngasse 49
8010 Graz
Austria
phone
+43 650 9222 907
mail
[email protected]
webwww.bionicsurface.com
Copyright: bionic surface technologies GmbH
Photos: bionic surface technologies GmbH, Red Bull Media House
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Bionic Surfaces
• Riblet surfaces (so called „shark skin“)
• Micro- and nanostructural grooves
• Reduction of drag in turbulent boundary layer up to 8%
CFD simulation
Pulp & paper
Particle simulation
Heat exchange
simulation
Aerodesign
Automotive engineering
Mechanical- and
plant engineering
• Minimization of time and effort for prototyping
• Visualization of non-visible flow parameters
• Faster generation of analysis and reports
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See new possibilities.
www.bionicsurface.com
Bionic Surfaces
Riblets in motorsports
Riblets in sports
Riblets in industrial plants
Riblets in transportation systems
Riblets in wind power
CFD Simulation
Sport
Aviation and astronautics
Pulp & Paper
Automotive engineering
Mechanical- and plant engineering
Building services technologies
Acoustics
About us
bionic surface technologies is an engineering firm based in Graz, Austria, focused
on fluid dynamics. The innovative company was founded in 2009 and is specialized
in numerical CFD simulations. Working on
various different national and international
projects has broadened the know-how and
experience of the team of bionic surface
technologies. Many different applications
were calculated precisely with CFD simulations to increase efficiency, performance
and productivity.
These high-end CFD simulations of bionic
surface technologies are also used in the
own product development of the company.
Bionic surfaces, also called riblets or shark
skin, reduce the drag in turbulent boundaries by about 8%. The micro- and nanostructured surfaces effect in their broad field of
use an increase in efficiency and speed, as
well as cost reductions.
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