CFD…easy as 1,2,3 (just use OpenFOAM)

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), powerful software packages that simulate air flow over virtual shapes, provide the foundation for many products intended to offer aerodynamic advantages, not least in the development of Formula One cars that is Ballard’s ‘day job’, and Swiss Side’s Hadron wheel is no different.

Ballard used an open source software application, OpenFOAM, which he says several leading F1 teams have utilised for its ability to drastically reduce the time required to convert CAD drawings to CFD cases. While the prototypes created from the models are later tested against their competitors in the wind tunnel, at this stage,  Ballard says, the designer’s focus is solely on his new creation.

“We defined a window range, where we would allow ourselves to optimise, and we quite simply let the data do the talking,” he recalls. “We weren’t letting ourselves be influenced by competitor wheels, or other shapes, or hearsay from the market.” Multiple tests of various profiles in the CFD environment allowed Ballard and his colleagues to note trends, and to make further developments.