Oval Racing Technology

Issue 15 • November 2016 • www.racecar-engineering.com/stockcar

NASCAR under cover This season’s developments in engines, cooling, simulation and aero

FROM THE PUBLISHER OF

CONTENTS

his edition of Stockcar Engineering focuses turbines and wings for aircraft. However, then. Indycar once had the same, with its not only on the engineering developments clusters can rarely be manufactured – usually Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis, and now it is the Tin NASCAR, but also on the opportunities they just happen, as has occurred in the UK turn of North Carolina to be a breeding ground that are available within North Carolina for young, with Motorsport Valley. There, not only do the not just for new teams, but also technologies. up and coming graduate engineers. majority of Formula 1 race teams have their Not only is the cottage industry mentality Jon Gunn’s feature (page 12) perfectly race shops, but the supply industry has grown being created, but it can be rapidly expanded to illustrates the incredible growth of technology up around it, and is settled happily. There are help reach future markets. As we have written in North Carolina, America’s version of the UK’s opportunities, and moving teams, or specialities, elsewhere in this edition, that means periphery Motorsport Valley. It is a technology cluster in does not mean a family upheaval. technologies, such as driver in the loop simulators which teams, companies and engineers are able It is the same in Germany – World Endurance (page 18), and aerodynamics. to thrive. In the UK, the British government is Championship LMP1 teams Audi, Porsche and North Carolina is developing into a hotbed of pushing to develop these clusters all over the Toyota are within a few miles of each other and new opportunities for young engineers, who can country, including the south west where the personnel movement between them is common. not only bring their knowledge to the party, but Land Speed Record Bloodhound is being Those needing work after Audi’s withdrawal from also have the opportunity of working alongside the constructed alongside carbon blades for wind the WEC may have an opportunity close to home, established engineers who grew up developing cars through what our correspondent Danny Nowlan would describe as ‘hand calculations’. North Carolina has a big, bright future. Andrew Cotton Editor, Racecar Engineering

CONTENTS

4 BENDING THE RULES 18 SIMULATORS 28 PWR PERFORMANCE NASCAR R&D boffin Eric Jacuzzi on How and why driver in the loop simulators Stockcar profiles the Australian company the drive to stamp out the use of flexible are beginning to play a much larger role in that supplies the entire Sprint Cup field components in the Sprint Cup NASCAR race engineering with its high performance cooling solutions

12 STOCKCAR INDUSTRY HUB 24 ROUSH YATES ENGINES 34 STOCKCAR SIMULATION We look at how a part of North Carolina An in-depth look at the close relationship Danny Nowlan continues his masterclass became the epicentre of the vibrant that’s been forged between NASCAR engine on chassis simulation for oval racing motorsport industry in the USA builder Roush Yates and Ford performance Produced by The Chelsea Magazine Company

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 3 NASCAR - RULES ENFORCEMENT

Individual tyre loadings on high banked tracks can exceed 4000lbs of force in the Sprint Cup, so the strength of parts needs to be strictly controlled

Deflecting bodywork has made its way in to NASCAR and continues to evolve as teams continue to work to extract maximum performance

4 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com Bending the rules Whether its fl exing in the suspension or the bodywork, bending the rules in the Sprint Cup can have a literal meaning. NASCAR’s R&D team reveals how the governing body is policing the use of fl exible parts By ERIC JACUZZI

ut in the real world, away from defl ection play key roles in maximising driver (track) bar system and solid rear axle.  e racing, fl exibility is a positive safety by absorbing energy to protect the rear axle is constrained fore and aft by two term. Being physically fl exible driver, both inside and outside of the car. trailing arm links with a Panhard bar holding is a good thing – you can move the axle in place laterally.  e trailing arms in many ways without pain or Suspension Basics are connected to the car with bolts that act Odiscomfort. Being fl exible in life and career NASCAR’s inspection process at the track as a pivot, and are attached to the axle at means you can take things as they come, is similar to most series in that it focuses the rear with U-bolts. Camber at the rear bending when needed with the situations mainly on two areas: where the tyres are axle is achieved with specialised drive plates you’re presented with. and where they’re pointed, and inspection and highly engineered axle splines to deliver For racers, though, fl exibility has not of the aerodynamic surfaces of the car. Like power to the rear wheels while angled at been a word viewed in a positive light. most series, there are regulations defi ning something less than perpendicular, placing a Flexing could signal imminent failure of a the mechanical footprint of the car both great deal of stress on the axle components. component in the steering or suspension. for competitiveness and to preclude the Camber limits at the front and rear have For race stewards the world over, fl exibility negative eff ects that occur when things are been put in place to help protect the tyres has become a bane of their existence; a taken too far.  ese measurements include from excessive wear, since there is not an dynamic phenomenon engineered to subvert limits on wheelbase, track, toe, camber and enforceable minimum tyre pressure without the inspection processes crafted to ensure weight distribution.  e front suspension actively monitoring tyre pressures at all times fair competition amongst all competitors. is a typical double wishbone design, while throughout a race weekend. Individual tyre However, in the world of safety, fl exibility and the rear suspension is a three-link Panhard loading on higher banked ovals can exceed

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com 5 NASCAR - RULES ENFORCEMENT

Here’s a shot of the NASCAR Sprint Cup car’s three-link rear suspension showing Panhard (track) bar and the trailing arm links.

4000lbs of force, causing tremendous heat build-up and wear, with the right front tyre generally bearing the brunt of the punishment. While it is up to the teams to ensure their cars can safely manage the race distance, this does not prevent them from going too far and causing a tyre failure due to excessive wear or heat build-up. And, as is human nature, it’s much easier to lay blame on the tyre than to accept that a team played too close to the edge. Toe is another prescribed parameter, which is the amount of inward or outward turn in the tyres at zero steering input. Of particular interest is toe at the rear of the car. Toe, in conjunction with rear skew, essentially gives the car a form of rear steering. Rear skew is most simply defi ned as the diff erence between the left side wheelbase and the right side assuming the front axle is a straight line. So for a left Figure 1. This graphically illustrates front and rear sideforce build during a yaw sweep handed oval it is desirable to have a shorter left hand side wheelbase and a longer right hand increasing cornering capability dramatically. At racecar, there will be almost no lateral force, side wheelbase.  e combined eff ect of rear toe the same ride height, downforce increases by since the car is by design symmetric.  at and skew has implications to driver feel and car around 50lbs per degree of yaw angle achieved begins to change as the car enters the corner performance at diff erent points in the corner along with corresponding gains in sideforce. and the yaw angle increases. from a mechanical perspective, but the most Sideforce as a total magnitude is  e current generation of Sprint Cup cars pronounced eff ect of rear skew is to deliver the informative, but does not tell the whole story. feature smooth and rounded fascias, which body of the car at a greater yaw angle to the air  e real story is the diff erence between front means that as the body takes on a yaw angle, than there would be if there were no skew. and rear sideforce and how they change with the air fl ows nicely around the profi le of For clarity, yaw angle is the angle of the yaw angle. Let us presume we have a car headed the body on both the left and right sides, in body relative to the path of the car, while down the track on a straight with no rear skew. essence creating an aerofoil with a stagnation chassis slip angle is the angle of the chassis In this case, the yaw angle and slip angle will point somewhere on the nose of the car. As and tyres relative to the car’s path.  e slip be one and the same. Based on the right-biased the car approaches its limit yaw angle, the air angle is dictated by defl ection of the tyres, and asymmetric tail design and spoiler off set, accelerates around the left hand front of the is generally around three to four degrees at this car will have something around 200lbs of fascia and down the side of the car, creating limit handling. Greater yaw angle allows the sideforce pushing the tail to the left while it’s substantial low pressure regions on the front car to generate more sideforce and downforce, heading in a straight line. At the front of the fascia and driver’s side door. Referring to

6 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com Sideforce as a total magnitude is informative, but it does not tell the whole story

the 2016 season, NASCAR mandated that all trailing arm mounts be welded to the chassis to help address this issue. After achieving dynamic movement of the suspension, the next problem competitors have to address is how to reverse the suspension translation that has occurred so they can pass post-race inspection.  is led to the phenomenon of drivers swerving hard to the right after the race in an attempt to unlock the rear suspension and re-establish the car to legal parameters. NASCAR realised this was occurring and has attempted to police this Trailing arm mounting to the chassis of a NASCAR Sprint Cup racer. The trailing arms behaviour via warnings prior to the races, and can be mounted at di erent heights to change behaviour under loading at the rear axle this phenomenon has now subsided.  ere are myriad reasons why this a bad situation for both the sanctioning body and competitors. Having hundreds of pounds of unsprung weight deliberately held in a manner such that it can defl ect under load is an obvious safety concern. From a racing quality standpoint, extensive testing in both CFD and on track has shown that sideforce is very powerful in decreasing lap time, and is very sensitive to traffi c conditions.  ere is some speculation that this dynamic movement at the rear of the car contributes negatively to driver feel, too. So while it may make a car faster when working properly, it could also contribute to making it much more diffi cult for the driver to perceive what is occurring underneath him. A Toyota Camry Sprint Cup car being put through the NASCAR body inspection process. Flexible Bodywork Figure 1, the much steeper rate of front Based on the geometry of the rear suspension, Much like the suspension inspection process, sideforce build is shown as compared to the rear. we can deduce a few things about what would the current body inspection process attempts to From the chart, at a yaw angle of just under fi ve need to happen if we wanted to increase the rear prescribe a geometric set of constraints which degrees the front sideforce overtakes the rear skew dynamically. At the most basic level, the competitors must meet prior to qualifying or sideforce in magnitude and the car goes from left side wheelbase can shorten, or the right side race events, with harsh penalties for modifying an aerodynamic understeer to an aerodynamic wheelbase can lengthen (or a combination of the body after the inspection process has been oversteer condition, omitting any mechanical both).  is means one of two things: we either completed.  e body inspection process occurs eff ects and the driver’s input. allow structural components or suspension using a template system lowered on to the car,  is point is referred to as the crossover components to fl ex, or allow the suspension with inspectors checking variance using feeler point, and it is where the aerodynamic yaw attachments to move, particularly on the left gauges. Teams work to maximise the permitted moment goes to zero. Because sideforce is linear side of the system (typical chassis mounts for variance of the templates, and at-track repairs both front and rear, delaying the crossover the trailing arms are shown in the picture at the for out of tolerance areas are common. But the point is only achievable by either fl attening the top of this page).  e shortening of the left side more elegant and expensive way to subvert this front sideforce slope (unlikely considering the wheelbase means the Panhard bar must allow process is to have the car’s body panels alter in tight body regulations), or by increasing the some movement laterally since the system is an advantageous manner on the race track. amount of rear sideforce the car begins with. To coupled, so plenty of development has naturally Flexible bodywork has been the bane of maximise performance on track, teams must followed in this area as well. race stewards from the Circuit de la Sarthe to work to maximise rear sideforce in order to Allowing components to move is easiest to Daytona Beach, with varying degrees of design take advantage of an increased yaw angle via achieve by simply loosening trailing arm bolts complexity. My fi rst recollection of it as a media skew, otherwise the car would simply reach the or with the oversizing of mounting holes.  e discussion was in F1 with Ferrari’s ride height crossover point earlier, potentially before the more engineered solution is allowing the left defeating front wing. Defl ecting rear wings chassis has reached its limit slip angle. side trailing arm mounting hardware to fl ex also made an appearance in the top LMP1 class under load and return to a legal condition at Le Mans in the past few years. Defl ecting Bending the limits once the load is removed. Continuous bodywork has also made its way to NASCAR and All teams work to be in the outermost fringes of development by teams has led to ever more continues to evolve as teams continue to work the mechanical limits each race weekend during engineered mounting hardware designed to to extract maximum performance. pre-race inspection. What happens dynamically react to the nearly 3g of acceleration the car Before delving into how teams achieve is the next step in maximising performance. experiences in the corner. Midway through fl exing bodywork, it is worth understanding

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com 7 NASCAR - RULES ENFORCEMENT

CFD visualisation of pressure distribution on a Sprint Cup racecar, with the white regions indicating high pressure and the blue regions indicating low pressure what type of advantages one would seek with undulations. Biasing skirts outward will cause pounds of drag force scaled to 200mph. Since a sedan-bodied racecar. At the front of the car, them to fl are out more when in contact with that is outside the rules, making it as small the wider we can make the front of the wheel the ground. Dollar for dollar this is one of the as possible to the fl ow is a key component opening, and the narrower we can make the easiest and most eff ective ways to give a car an to reducing drag. Rather than improving back side of the wheel opening, the lower the advantage. e reverse is also true – occasionally fl ow to the spoiler, car design tends toward pressure we can create in the underhood region a car will catch a skirt and pull it under the car, the opposite. is means highly peaked rear and the greater the downforce. e same eff ect typically on the left hand side. is can cause a roof-lines attempting to defl ect air over the applies to the rear wheel openings. Since the loss in hundreds of pounds of downforce and spoiler. More clever are the attempts to lower wheel openings are fastidiously inspected prior it can also be diffi cult to correctly repair on pit the spoiler height by allowing the rear of the to the race, all of the defl ection must occur road during a quick pit stop. car to defl ect downwards at the deck lid area. after the inspection process. is defl ection can NASCAR addressed this earlier in the season by include tyre changers who strike the leading Reducing lift improving regulations centred around deck edge of the wheel band with the tyre during e defi ciency of the passenger car as a race lid mounting and fastening. a change, forcing it outward, all the way to vehicle aerodynamically speaking is the high e rationale is very similar to the LMP1/ elaborate solutions such as highly deformable lifting greenhouse area, with a high windshield F1 defl ecting wings – use them when you sides in the door region that defl ect inward and gentle stylised camber reminiscent of the need them, but minimise their drag eff ect while in corners, causing the wheel opening to fi nest aerofoils of the NACA catalogue. e lift when not needed for maximum gain. e pull outward as the centre of the door moves suction on the roof at 200mph is nearly half roof escape hatch for driver egress and roof inward. Defl ecting the door panels inward can the weight of the car. us, reducing the fl aps for preventing lift-off in a spin have also act to exaggerate a legal width wheel opening lift of the roof can yield a big payoff in total been used to gain an aerodynamic advantage as well, more dramatically moving air laterally downforce. e easiest way to do this is to make at superspeedways, with teams attempting around it and achieving a similar eff ect. the spoiler work more eff ectively. to defl ect air over the spoiler by having them e spoiler causes the airstream to defl ect protrude slightly while on track. is has led Skirting the issue upward, in essence causing an earlier separation to more stringent regulation of the designs to e side skirts are another case of ‘bigger is of the fl ow off the back of the greenhouse and ensure they are used for their intended purpose. better’. e wider and more fl ared the side skirts reducing lift. Ensuring the most airfl ow at the We’ve discussed how important rear are, the larger the track surface the car covers, highest speed possible reaches the rear spoiler sideforce is, and there have been several projecting the low pressure region contained is crucial to increasing dynamic pressure on the instances of developments in this area. Teams within them on the track and creating greater rear of the racecar. Any downward movement work to ensure the right rear corner of the car is downforce. Flaring the rear end of the skirts of the rear portions of the roof dynamically can as square as possible, attempting to decrease the outward can also defl ect air around the rear yield increases in downforce. designed radius of the lower bumper. e shape of the car, creating a low pressure region on At the opposite end of the spectrum, of the right rear quarter panel is also crucial – by the ground plane for the rear of the racecar. superspeedways such as Daytona and Talladega increasing the dish of the quarter panel, rear e side skirts are perhaps the easiest to move value drag reduction as paramount. e spoiler sideforce can be increased. is was achieved dynamically, as they are close to the track is one of the highest drag items on the car in many instances by crew members physically surface and often come into contact with that can be easily addressed – removing it at a slamming into the rear quarter during pit stops, the track as the rear of the car moves over superspeedway track would take away 100-plus or by having the quarter panel designed to be Having hundreds of pounds of unsprung weight deliberately held in such a manner is an obvious safety concern

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Once the cat is out of the bag, all the teams must expend precious resources to stay competitive extremely soft in the centre, leading to dynamic the bag, all the teams must expend precious of course there are near limitless areas on the defl ection on track.  e area is so sensitive to resources to stay competitive.  is leads to car to test and worry about. Inspectors must performance that teams have even attempted to frustration in the paddock with inspection react to new areas of development and modify have the wrap peel up on the right rear corner, processes if they cannot adequately address inspection methods – this is, and always has forming a fl imsy wicker on track.  ese practices the dynamic phenomena. been, a cat and mouse game. have been addressed by a combination of stern But there are ways to police this, with static Another way to address defl ection and part warnings and enhanced bracing design. or dynamic defl ection testing as one method stiff ness is to specify construction material of preventing engineered defl ection. Typically, and thickness. Defl ection becomes a much Attacking the Problem this involves prescribed locations where a more formidable task when you are dealing Perhaps the greatest issue that fl exible solutions load is applied with a corresponding limit on with a quarter inch of cross-ply carbon fi bre pose, no matter what the series, is that they defl ection.  is does seem to have been eff ective rather than 1/16in of sheet metal.  is can subvert intended regulations and can drive up at eliminating the most egregious defl ections in lead to heavier components but a more even development costs, and once the cat is out of the open wheel and prototype worlds, though playing fi eld for competitors. In the case of body thickness, it can prevent dynamic defl ection and has the additional benefi t of decreasing the signifi cance of in-race contact between cars. Drivers can then race more aggressively if they do not need to fear ruining the aerodynamic performance of their car from minor contact.  is has actually been a cornerstone of NASCAR stockcar racing since its inception. Positive Defl ection Not all defl ection in the racing world is negative, of course. In fact, some of it can be life-saving. NASCAR, along with Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pioneered the use of the SAFER barrier, an energy absorbing wall constructed of steel and foam which is now a feature at every oval track on the calendar, for instance. With the SAFER barrier the outer portion of the wall is formed of extruded steel and backed by energy absorbing foam wedges. When a car Defl ection is used in a positive way with the SAFER crash barrier, pictured at Daytona strikes the barrier, the steel section defl ects and energy is transferred both into moving the steel wall and by crushing the foam blocks.  e car is defl ected back along the race track, preventing an abrupt stop which further reduces the accelerations the car experiences. On top of this, on the inside of the racecar, extensive work has been done to reduce intrusion and fl exibility in the chassis. More recent work by NASCAR senior director John Patalak and his team has focused specifi cally on adding deformable foam to the footwell area to prevent foot injury during head-on accidents. Meanwhile, deformable foam inside door panels work to attenuate crash energy from a lateral impact. With large staff s of intelligent engineers and the resources to investigate all avenues, teams will always be a step ahead in pursuing dynamic solutions to skirt the rule intentions. Offi ciating such issues will always be reactive, but by improving regulations and designs to minimise these opportunities, sanctioning bodies can work to keep competition as fair NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series roll cage is designed with a certain amount of give in mind and cost eff ective as possible. SE

10 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com

NASCAR - INDUSTRY FOCUS The stock market Stockcar Engineering examines how and why a certain part of North Carolina came to be the undisputed hub of the US motorsport industry By JON GUNN

12 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com NASCAR races at Charlotte hen it comes to a centre for Motor Speedway are home racecar engineering in the fi xtures to many of the teams, United States, nothing even but that’s just the more comes close to the Charlotte visible part of North Carolina’s region, encompassing thriving motorsport economy WMooresville, in North Carolina. But stockcar racing’s epicentre hasn’t always been the buzzing technological hub for motorsport it is today. The stock market In 1980, there weren’t even any engineers employed by NASCAR teams, and some of the most sophisticated engineering tools were slide rules, grain scales and string. at began to change when auto manufacturers involved in the sport – at the request of key players like former NASCAR crew chief Gary Nelson – assigned engineers to assist teams trying to gain speed through the corners. Up to that point teams with support from the manufacturers would have been fortunate to receive some technical assistance with their engine programmes and perhaps some time on wind tunnels in Warren, Michigan, or Marietta, Georgia, but that was about the extent of it. Technical revolution is began to change in the early 1980s when engineer Doug Milliken, who was working with General Motors at the time, convinced Nelson to strap a NASCAR Cup car on GM’s chassis-testing machine, a precursor to today’s kinematics and compliance rig. ‘People in NASCAR had begun to realise that going to the wind tunnel was probably a good thing,’ Milliken says. ‘If you came back from the wind tunnel, you were probably going to be faster – especially at superspeedways. But we may have been the fi rst – with everything being secret it’s hard to know for sure – to take a NASCAR car and put it on a kinematics and compliance rig.’ Nelson, who went on to become NASCAR’s top offi cial and today manages Action Express Racing, liked what engineering brought to the table and hired an in-house engineer in 1982. Others in the sport scoff ed at Nelson’s approach, but that didn’t dissuade him from steering the sport in a diff erent direction. ‘ e veterans in the sport said, “ e engineering stuff never works”. ose were the comments I got on a regular basis,’ Nelson says. ‘“You guys can spend your money on engineering, but you’ll never outrun Junior Johnson and Bud Moore and those type of guys”.’ Nelson’s DiGard team won eight races in 1982 with driver Bobby Allison and won six races and the championship the following season. Not long after that, all the top teams started leaning on the manufacturers for engineering help, and later began bringing in engineers of their own. Engineering infl ux As engineering became a bigger part of NASCAR, teams, manufacturers and private entities began bringing engineering tools to the Charlotte region. It was slow going at fi rst, a few computers and some ‘I just don’t see where there software, but today, the region is unlike any other. ‘I just don’t see where there is this concentration is this concentration of of motorsports activity in any other place in the world,’ says Travis Geisler, competition director for motorsports activity in any Team Penske. ‘Indianapolis probably was this way, but even Team Penske’s IndyCar programme is in other place in the world’ Charlotte now. ‘When you look at the highest form of

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com 13 NASCAR - INDUSTRY FOCUS

Despite the outlandish wings on these late ’60s stockcars it took NASCAR a while to embrace wind tunnel research

HOW TO BECOME A NASCAR RACE ENGINEER

hen college-trained engineers manager for Stewart-Haas Racing. ‘What you other mechanical engineering student in the began showing up at NASCAR race find is that each field is very specialised, so United States would take,’ says Kile Stinson, Wshops in the early 1980s, they were there is a learning curve – whether you go graduate research operations manager for typically greeted with handshakes and a lot of into aerospace, computers, robotics or racing. UNCC’s motorsports engineering programme. confused looks. Back then, everyone in the shop Typically, if you are going to come into racing, I ‘In almost any mechanical engineering learned the ins and outs of their respective would say you would put yourself ahead if you programme, a student can take technical trades by working on racecars and going to come in either with some racing experience electives – like nuclear power production, the track. They turned wrenches, not pages of so you have practical knowledge to go along plastic parts design and wind energy systems. engineering textbooks. To all but a few in the with what you’ve learned in school – you spent ‘In our motorsports programme, those sport, being an engineer meant you operated some time closing the loop. Or, I see a lot of electives are narrowed down to classes a locomotive. Even years later, when just people coming out of graduate programmes and that are applicable to racing – for example, about every team in the sport had at least one they’ve done research in really hot development aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics and tyre engineer, it wasn’t uncommon for a mechanic areas – CFD, aerodynamics and a lot of the mechanics,’ Stinson says. to holler ‘choo-choo!’ when an engineer energy system stuff for powertrains. Those walked through the workshop. people bring a unique advanced skill-set [so Racing experience The idea seems comical today, when over that] they can contribute immediately on Cliff Daniels, lead engineer on the No.48 20 of the top-40 Sprint Cup crew chiefs are the developmental side.’ Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Sprint college-trained engineers and hundreds Cup entry, grew up racing late models and of other engineers work within the sport. Class action is a graduate from UNCC’s motorsports Engineers have made massive inroads A little desire, hands-on experience and a programme. Daniels says his racing experience throughout NASCAR. And while a bachelor’s in general engineering degree are big first steps helped him get into NASCAR but acknowledges mechanical engineering is the most common toward working in NASCAR, but the University college helped him connect the dots. ‘College degree among engineers working in the sport, of North Carolina at Charlotte takes it one was a very valuable tool just to have in my additional experience can turn a good candidate step further. For the last decade, the university toolbox going into the race engineering world into a great candidate. ‘A general engineering has offered a mechanical engineering degree in NASCAR,’ he says. ‘Your first and second education prepares you to go into pretty much with a concentration in motorsports. ‘Our years, you’re taking a lot of maths and science any field,’ says Daniel Knost, vehicle dynamics motorsports students take the same classes any requirements. Once I started getting into the

14 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com Gary Nelson was one of the first NASCAR Race engineers were a rare sight in NASCAR in the ’80s but now a top rank operation crew chiefs to sign up race engineers will employ up to 50 engineers and will also rely very heavily on its computing power

motorsports, which is Formula 1, they certainly very far; you don’t have to look very far to find of 75 per cent. To support that effort, they have all the technology, but they are all in people who are working on it. have stepped up their 3D modelling programs, different areas; they are not all in one town. ‘NASCAR got the ball rolling, and it got all and 3D printing is on the rise as well. On that So it is pretty impressive.’ the vendors to where they had to have an on- front, teams are working on everything from Big-time sponsorship and a massive spike in sight location here. Now, it’s just, “Hey, we are stereo-lithography and fused deposition to NASCAR’s popularity, that began in the 1990s, all going to just keep condensing in this area”.’ an emerging form of 3D printing that welds helped fuel the addition of engineering tools powder to make metal parts capable of being within the North Carolina region, and although Skill centre used in load-carrying applications. the sport has lost steam in recent years, the Within every top team is a battalion of ‘When it comes to our sport, we are engineering infrastructure has nonetheless engineers – 50 or more – and each of the top looking for something that gives us a just got deeper and deeper. shops is outfitted with a seven-post shaker competitive advantage,’ says Hendrick ‘The NASCAR world is the backbone of rig. There’s also no shortage of powerful Motorsports engineer David Kapp. ‘Anything Charlotte, and it’s what developed this into a computing hardware to handle big jobs such as we can manufacture ourselves is a performance motorsports hotbed,’ Geisler says. ‘You’ve got computational fluid dynamics programs. advantage. It’s to our benefit to manufacture just about everything. If you need shock work Teams are also designing and manufacturing that in-house, so it stays in-house.’ or aero work, it’s here. You don’t have to travel more parts and pieces than ever – upwards And while live data acquisition is not permitted in NASCAR during races (yet teams HOW TO BECOME A NASCAR RACE ENGINEER are fully equipped to gather data during tests), some teams have started installing live command centres to monitor at-track activities. third and fourth years, I was able to relate programmes such as Formula SAE, but Daniels to a lot of the classes really well – things like believes schools could prepare engineering Windy city better ways of optimising a radiator or oil students even more by incorporating real- The region is also home to three wind tunnels. cooler, thermal properties of tyres, metals or world-like racing programmes. ‘If it’s not an Windshear’s full-scale rolling-road beauty is materials. By the time I was a senior, I knew it in-house team, at least some sort of affiliation state-of-the-art, while Aerodyn offers two had been a great decision to continue with my with a team that does travel, does have a tunnels – one a full-scale with boundary layer education. Going into NASCAR, my racing and rigorous schedule,’ he says. ‘Something that control and a second closed-jet full-scale tunnel. education backgrounds made a big difference.’ offers practical experience where you know Manufacturers are also stepping up their how to show up to the race track and set up engineering presence in the area. Toyota Racing Challenging work scales properly and get a basic set-up put on Development opened a 35,000sq.ft facility in Some young engineers with plans of making a a car. Some of those essentials get lost in the 2008, and Ford Racing opened a 33,000sq.ft career in NASCAR, however, join teams after lab or textbook environment.’ technical centre in 2014. TRD has a facility in graduating only to discover racing isn’t for Aside from gaining valuable motorsports Southern California primarily geared toward them. ‘There have been guys I went to college experience, programmes like Formula SAE engine development, but its newer North with who I respected and knew they were great can help students build relationships with Carolina campus is geared more toward chassis at the textbook side of things, and then you prospective employers. Several top NASCAR design, vehicle dynamics and simulation. see them get into a racing environment where outfits send representatives to either watch Among its key offerings are a kinematics and the hours are difficult and personalities can be or judge Formula SAE events – especially the compliance rig, shaker rig and racecar body challenging,’ Daniels says. ‘In NASCAR, you annual gathering at Michigan International and chassis scanners. It is also thought to be have a mix of people. Some people have just Speedway. ‘Guys from the big manufacturers outfitted, according to Geisler, with something been in racing for years and may not know the are going to that event looking to recruit akin to AVL’s full driveline dyno. maths or the science behind it but, man, they engineers, but the racing world will also have a The hot bit of kit at Ford’s facility is a top- just know this spring is going to work. That can presence,’ Stinson says. ‘They will walk through notch driver in the loop simulator, but with the be challenging for a guy who wants to maybe the paddock, look at cars, talk with teams, company luring Stewart-Haas Racing over from over-explain it with the maths or the science.’ watch their design presentations. There are race Chevrolet, more equipment will likely be added. To better prepare engineering students for teams who send people and they are looking GM does not have a motorsports a career in motorsports many universities offer for the cream of the crop.’ engineering facility in the region, but longtime partner Pratt and Miller Engineering has a

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 15 NASCAR - INDUSTRY FOCUS At the hub of Charlotte’s motorsports engineering scene are hundreds of college-trained engineers

Charlotte location – and lots of engineering their production car work. The race teams would of the sport that could use more engineering talent. General Motors has also recently opened get put on ‘off shifts’ and couldn’t always get on muscle, according to Daniel Knost, vehicle a 138,000sq.ft performance and racing centre in when they needed to. And sometimes it took a dynamics manager at Stewart-Haas Racing. ‘It Pontiac, Michigan, incidentally. while to get things done. We thought if we could seems like a lot of the engine development tools put this type of testing in the Charlotte area, and powertrain tools are still resident to the Custom rig cater it toward the needs of race teams, then it OEMs in Michigan,’ Knost says. ‘We do Among the first independent entrepreneurs to would be appealing,’ Morse says. have engine builders and they have engine invest millions of dollars on engineering in the Short of a full driveline dyno that can be dynos and Spintrons. [But] if you’re a race North Carolina region was engineer Bob Morse, used by all the teams, there remains one side team and you want to work on powertrain who in 2005 installed a K&C rig which was open development, you really have to go up to for use to all of the NASCAR teams. Michigan to work with the OEMs.’ ‘It came down to identifying the need amongst the NASCAR teams for this form of Skilled workforce testing,’ Morse says of his decision to locate At the hub of Charlotte’s motorsports his rig in the Charlotte region. ‘The teams engineering scene are hundreds of college- were traveling to Michigan to get on the trained engineers. And as is the case with the manufacturers’ rigs. That was a less-than-ideal engineering tools, the number of engineers in situation – not just because of the travel, but Gary Nelson’s DiGard team blazed a trail the sport grows larger year after year. the manufacturers have their rigs [set up] to do for hi-tech approach in the early 1980s ‘I would almost put it in the exploded category,’ Geisler says of the increase in the amount of engineers in the Charlotte area. ‘When I started [2006], our engineering departments fitted into very small areas. There was maybe one engineer per team [travelling to races] and a couple guys at home. It’s definitely larger than that for everybody, and that’s begun to touch every department. ‘CNC stuff really started to take off. We are building a lot more parts that way, so you have to have design and manufacturing support. It’s not just the speed engineers anymore. There are engineers working on every aspect of the problem. It’s the area that has really expanded the most,’ Geisler says. Strengthening the region’s motorsports engineering foundation even more is the additional presence of teams participating in racing disciplines outside of NASCAR. With Haas F1 up and running, North Carolina can The area around Charlotte is now home to three high specification wind tunnel facilities now also boast an affiliation with Formula 1. The area is also home to IndyCar, sportscar, off- road and even drag racing and drift car teams. Sweet Carolina Another key element complementing the motorsports engineering scene in the Charlotte area is that while the region was mainly built on textile manufacturing, it now has a strengthening tech movement. ‘Charlotte is a growing area for technology in general,’ Knost says. ‘You have Duke Energy, which is a major energy company that is involved in mechanical, electrical and nuclear engineering. Westinghouse is here, General Electric. The Charlotte area is thriving for engineering and technology development.’ Which means that Charlotte looks set to remain the centre of the US racing scene for Formula 1 has come to the North Carolina region with the Haas F1 facility in Kannapolis many years to come. SE

16 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com FA_Ad_210x297_WF_2015_out.indd 1 2/18/15 12:25 PM TECHNOLOGY - SIMULATORS Back to reality Ansible Motion believes it has come a step closer to creating the perfect illusion with its own take on driver in the loop simulators By SAM COLLINS

Until relatively recently most of the commercially available simulators have come directly or indirectly from the aviation industry

18 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com hen the new crop of F1 cars took to the track for the fi rst time during the pre-season tests at Barcelona many of the drivers already knew what to expect from the new designs. Because most, if not all, of them Whad already driven their machines for countless laps in the virtual environment. Of course, simulators are nothing new, they have been used in racing for years, and in aviation for almost a century, but the way they are being used by engineers in motorsport today Back to reality is changing.  ey have now become a key tool in the car design and development process in Formula 1 and LMP1, and they are having a growing impact in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, too. However, until relatively recently most of the commercially available simulators have come directly or indirectly from the aviation industry.  ese had some inherent shortcomings when they were adapted for use with ground vehicles, though at fi rst almost nobody noticed these, mainly because quite simply there was no alternative. Most of these issues are also not to do with hardware or even software functionality, rather they all relate to that fl awed component; the human in the loop. ‘Is it a simulation or a measurement that is closer to the truth? Is it better to trust objective representations of reality, or subjective feelings and perceptions about reality?’ Ansible Motion’s Phil Morse asks in a white paper published by the company in 2015. ‘Such questions often bring into focus the human factor – that inescapable and mysterious combination of physiological and psychological elements that defi nes the total driving experience. Simply put, a Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulator is a mechanism for creating an illusion for drivers. If the illusion is convincing – and a number of other characteristics are present – then we have the basis for a useful tool for human factors studies, vehicle engineering work, and/or fundamental research.’ Keeping it real It is in the process of creating this illusion where many aerospace derived simulators struggle somewhat. If a driver’s mind and body does not believe it is real then the feedback that both give will also not be real.  e human reaction to motion is fairly well understood by those who study such things, and they call this the vestibular system.  is organic system consists in essence of miniature, six- degree-of-freedom gyroscopes within the inner ears. Special organs within the vestibule, called the utricle and saccule organs, detect linear accelerations in three directions – vertical (which includes gravity), lateral (sway), and longitudinal (surge). In addition, three fl uid fi lled semi-circular canals are oriented in three planes to sense yaw, pitch and roll. When a person’s body is moved about, tiny hair cells in the vestibule and semi-circular canals stimulate the vestibular nerve, leaving the brain to interpret the nerve impulses resulting from simultaneous combinations of the six primary accelerations.  e key to getting a simulator to work as intended is to have the whole of this system, in addition to the visual inputs, fooled into believing that everything it is encountering is real. Most of the aviation derived systems are based on the Stewart platform concept. Having evolved into the modern hexapod concept these designs can trace their roots back to Dr Eric Gough in 1947.  ey tend to suff er from the limitation of size, range and mechanical performance.  e mechanical lag on some products can be perceived by the driver and it shatters the illusion and can ruin technical feedback. In the aviation world which developed these simulators, this lag Ford, which uses an Ansible Motion is not a factor, the pilots are used to controlling huge vehicles and system at its Tech Centre in North seeing far-away objects.  ere are no objects close to the eyeline Carolina, has both NASCAR and GT and no sudden change in direction. Even with the latest fi ghter cockpits to fi x to its machine. This jets, which change direction incredibly rapidly, the lag for the pilot extra layer of realism is key when it is not an issue as they tend not to have advertising hoardings, comes to making drivers believe kerbs and barriers passing within 10 metres.  ey also do not they are at the wheel of a racecar have to deal with bumps in the road or changes in tyre adhesion.

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com 19 TECHNOLOGY - SIMULATORS

Ansible Motion’s patented design At the heart of the Ansible (above) goes some way towards addressing simulator is a motion platform some of the problems associated with hexapod comprising linear slides which provide the surge simulators, which are often based on aerospace units and sway, and a rotary table which provides the yaw

The platform is designed to be inherently The cockpit in which the simulator driver will sit in needs to feel as real as possible. stiff while it also has a very low centre of Typically Formula 1 teams will fit a monocoque to their simulators. For an extra dose of gravity, which reduces the bending moments realism there will also often be a torque force on the steering wheel and the seat belts

Hexapod type simulators can also struggle with motion space. Rather than controlling the tool for vehicle constructors. We now recognise the range and type of motion experienced; as hexapod or hybrid hexapod to merely return that our vision formed the foundation of the they are fully parallel six degrees of freedom to centre, the controller actually winds up in a world’s first commercially available vehicle machines all six actuators must move in direction opposite to an anticipated command. dynamics-capable driving simulator.’ order to create any motion, even just in one All this said, hexapods can indeed be used And thus Ansible Motion was formed. Its direction. This can mean that they have an for automotive simulation work, and are still first simulator featured a motion platform inherently limited capability to create complex the most common type in use in motorsport. for use in a simulator comprising linear slides simultaneous movements such as those that providing surge and sway, and a rotary table might be experienced by a driver turning, while Inventing the future providing yaw. A payload carrying platform braking, while driving over kerbs. As a result Becoming aware of these issues some years ago, was mounted on the rotary table via three bell engineers have tried to create workarounds Kia Cammaerts, a former Ralt and Lotus F1 cranks to provide heave, pitch and roll. It such as hybrid systems with the hexapods being engineer, and Bob Stevens, another ex-Lotus looked completely different to a hexapod mounted on tracks or turntables. Or, as is the man, decided to develop a new type of simulator and Ansible patented the technology. case with the Dallara simulator, they will have specifically for use with ground vehicles. Rather But the simulator is more than the very long stroke hydraulic actuators. This can than utilising the Stewart platform concept they mechanical components, says Cammaerts: overcome the parallel movement limitations came up with something completely new. ‘In ‘One of our favourite quotes is: “The best way by adding more than six degrees of freedom 2009, we had a vision for what an automotive to predict the future is to invent it.” The man to the system, but at the expense of increased style driving simulator should look like, and how who is credited with that quote, Alan Kay, also complexity, cost, mass, actuator friction, and, it should behave. Being automotive engineers said that “people who are really serious about of course, mechanical lag. ourselves, we put it to paper,’ Cammaerts says. software should make their own hardware”. I Another common approach is to add control ‘We knew straight away that we had something would be hard-pressed to find any statements strategies to protect the hexapod’s limited unique, something that might serve as a useful that are better aligned with how we go about Aircraft pilots don’t have to deal with bumps in the road or tyre adhesion

20 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com SIMULATOR TYPES he simulators used in dense traffic scenario containing motorsport, which have some erratic fellow drivers. These Tevolved hugely over the systems are typically large and last few decades, range in size, complex and they are generally built complexity, capability and cost, around hexapod motion systems. and they can be broadly classified Graphics and image generation into three basic categories. technologies usually emphasise flexibility in scenario modifications Entertainment over photo-realism or visual latency These systems are powered by reduction strategies. Scenes can powerful gaming PCs. Additionally, be projected on to the interior of there are larger, commercial systems attached domes or in some cases on used for amusement parks, trade to large stand-alone screens. Some shows, and other events that high profile installations can take feature mock-up vehicle cockpits, up entire rooms or even buildings motion systems, and audio systems. and capital costs can spill into the Entertainment DIL simulators hundreds of millions of dollars. Entertainment simulators are a step up from games and are useful feature graphics centric software But the potential for safety for learning circuits and for race driver talent search schemes. displaying a driving environment research alone can justify these Pictured is gamer turned racecar driver Jann Mardenborough that responds to input received enormous investments in Human from driver devices (steering wheels, Factors DIL simulator installations. gearshifts, and pedals). The graphics Human Factors DIL simulators are can be state-of-the-art in terms useful and they play an important of quality and photo-realism, and role for automotive manufacturers. the applications enable players As mentioned above, there are to simulate changing vehicles, also tangible benefits to placing environments (typically race tracks), real drivers into contact with simplified vehicle tuning parameters, sophisticated vehicle simulation and can even allow inter-connectivity models during the product with other ‘live’ drivers for the development stage. purposes of competing in virtual racing and driving competitions. Vehicle Dynamics DIL These systems are not designed These simulators represent the for automotive engineering work, newest, emerging class of DIL so they typically do not connect to simulation tools and, as the name sophisticated vehicle descriptions. implies, they are designed for a However, they are often endorsed different category of DIL simulation. by professional racing drivers, as Like Human Factors DIL simulators, they can be useful for learning and they are designed to closely simulate practising the racing lines around actual driving conditions of real visually-realistic race tracks. vehicles and, as such, they are useful for vehicle manufacturers’ Human Factors DIL engineering and product Unlike entertainment simulators, development work. However, unlike Human Factors DIL simulators are typically operated by road which are designed primarily for Human Factors DIL simulators, car manufacturers and they are designed to closely simulate the enjoyment of the player/driver, the emphasis for Vehicle Dynamics actual on the road driving conditions. This one belongs to Lexus Human Factors DIL simulators DIL simulators is typically directed are designed to more closely towards measuring vehicle and simulate actual driving conditions driver performance rather than they must be able to provide useful some cases, real vehicle cockpit of real vehicles and, as such, they monitoring driver behaviours. subjective feedback regarding vehicle components might be utilised, but are useful for vehicle manufacturers Vehicle Dynamics DIL simulators behaviour and performance. As such, for haptic (touch) immersion rather and engineering work. The emphasis must connect to sophisticated emphasis is often placed on real-time that ergonomic reasons. is typically directed towards vehicle simulation models in functionality of detailed sub-systems Vehicle Dynamics DIL simulators monitoring drivers rather than order to contribute to core vehicle and application tool chains – systems are often connected in real-time vehicle behaviours. development tasks that involve that would not be the subject of with sophisticated vehicle subsystem For example, automotive skilled drivers. Expert drivers scrutiny in typical Human Factors models via Software-in-the-Loop manufacturers might use a Human must be able to interact in a highly DIL simulations, such as tyre/surface (SIL) or mechanical Hardware-in- Factors DIL simulator to study realistic way in a ‘virtual proving modelling, steering wheel feedback the- Loop test benches, and real human behaviour while driving a ground’ manner, without being tuning, cue tuning relative to vehicle engine control units (ECUs) via representative vehicle model in a subjected to sensory violations, and simulation commands, and so on. In Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL). Human Factors DIL simulators play an important role for automotive manufacturers

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 21 TECHNOLOGY - SIMULATORS

Simulator technology for motorsport applications is clearly not yet mature and the applications, tools and usage are still evolving fast

our business. Our technology has three layers of can be graphically corrected for the optical overall architecture and the detailed design operation; the vision system, which comprises perspective that the driver would see in the real But that wasn’t enough,’ adds Cammaerts. the screen and projectors; then the computer world environment within the simulator. On ‘Our first generation of motion control system system, comprising a dozen PCs of different the other side of the vehicle dynamics, there used commercial off the shelf components and types performing different functions for the are the cue filters which take the accelerations motion controllers. We used them at quite a system and audio rack. And then there’s the that the driver of the real car would be subject high level so we gave top level commands saying motion platform and cockpit.’ to and transforms them into a set of demands “move like this” and we let them work out how for the accelerations that the driver in the to perform that movement. Layers of illusion platform would be subjected to. ‘We then developed another generation All of these layers combine to provide the ‘Those demands are passed to the motion of control system which was much closer to required inputs and responses to create that control system which energises the motors the metal, so to speak, for our hand-wheel illusion for the driver. ‘The main parts of the to cause the motion of the platform to reflect control system. It needed a much higher system are the vehicle dynamics, which is where the acceleration demands that we want to control response and a much lower latency the calculations are made for the physics of the provide. This creates a realistic sense of motion than the main vestibular systems, because your vehicle interacting with its environment,’ says for the driver,’ Cammaerts says. fingers are so sensitive when they’re holding Cammaerts. ‘That’s typically a software solution, something,’ Cammaerts says. and it’s connected to a graphics engine, which Ground control ‘We then took that control system and renders the view from the cockpit in a way that There are another couple of components, extended it to the whole system. Now we have too, Cammaerts adds. ‘The terrain that the a control system where we still use commercial HONING THE ILLUSION vehicle is passing over. That sits in between off-the-shelf motor drives for our servo electric the graphics rendering and the vehicle physics. motors, but we use them as very simple current o enhance the virtual driving experience of its The vehicle physics has to pass the tyre models controllers. All the intelligence is removed from simulators, or in other word to make the illusion over a terrain surface that reflect the ground the commercial components and placed under Teven better, Ansible Motion has developed a conditions that the graphics centre has to our control in software we write ourselves. number of special systems. One example is its Helmet render, with the surface at the right height That was an enormous effort, but it means Loading System (HLS), a multiple degree-of-freedom or you might seem to be driving through the that we have very low level control over what is electromechanical device that can inform a simulator ground, over or underneath. Typically the happening. If there is a problem it means that driver about vehicle directional changes. terrain is passed through the graphics pipeline we can fix it; if there is a problem we can often According to Ansible Motion, applied forces and first before being passed to the vehicle physics.’ understand it – which can be a big problem displacements are contained within safe operating The final layer of the system is the cockpit with sealed systems. That improved our control envelopes, and can also be tuned for different driver the driver sits in. This, too, needs to feel as real response in terms of bandwidth and frequency heights, positions, and personal preferences. ‘The as possible. Typically Formula 1 teams will fit a response considerably.’ HLS provides safe, subtle cues that can be highly monocoque to the simulator in order to provide informative during certain classes of manoeuvres,’ that real feel, while Ford, which uses an Ansible Synchronous motion says Cammaerts. ‘We classify this as a supplemental Motion system at its Tech Center in North Cammearts continues: ‘A positive by-product cue, one that adds a useful enhancement layer on top of Carolina, has both a NASCAR cockpit and a of the way we’ve designed it is it is never the primary motion cueing.’ GT style cockpit for its work. over-constrained, so every axis is always free to The firm has already supplied the technology to some ‘It is a big part of the system,’ Cammaerts move independently of all the others. With our of its existing customers, it tells us. says. ‘A part that provides feedback to the driver control strategy we send a move command to all in terms of supplemental cues like torque or six axes within microseconds of each other so force on the steering wheel or seatbelt, and we have highly synchronous motion. allows the driver to make demands of the ‘Having made that leap – and it certainly vehicle model through steering position and wasn’t a leap a small company could easily do, pedal inputs. We can also provide additional but we had to start somewhere, and we are quite cues to the driver like high frequency actuators pleased with our early efforts – our new control on surfaces touched by the driver.’ system, where we took control of the design The attention to detail on the Ansible process and implementation, is now so subtle Motion system is total, and its products are it’s almost not there,’ Cammearts claims. the result of a hugely detailed analysis of every The Ansible Motion simulators have component and how it operates. ‘We started certainly raised the bar in terms of creating the with the basics of the mechanical engineering illusion for the race drivers, and they are now of the system; load paths, compliances, bearing widely used in the automotive and motorsport design. We looked to eliminate flexibility world, but it should be made clear they are wherever we could and make it stiff enough, certainly not the only products on the market Ansible Motion’s Helmet Loading System is just that is also part of the inherent design of the which provide a good level of immersion. one of the ways the company is enhancing the platform, which has a very low centre of gravity, Simulator technology for motorsport is also experience for the drivers of its simulators and that reduces the bending moments, so it’s clearly not yet mature, and the applications, from both the basic layout of the platform, the tools and usage are evolving fast. SE

22 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 180 mph without moving an inch

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WSI-28_Motorsports.vF.indd 1 8/15/08wsi 11:08:14-28 AM

WSI-28_Motorsports.vF.inddWINDSHERE MAR13.indd 1 1 8/15/0831/01/2013 11:08:14 08:56 AM NASCAR - ROUSH YATES ENGINES Powering

FordRoush Yates Engines and Ford Performance is one of the most successful partnerships in motorsport – but just what makes this special relationship tick? By NICK BAILEY

Thanks to new testing tools and advancements in the sport the Ford FR9 V8 continues to evolve

24 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com ith a strong emphasis found the perfect base in Mooresville, North six years now, and thanks to new testing tools on the need to succeed, Carolina, and built new premises there back and advancements in the sport it continues to it’s not uncommon for in 2002. Things were looking good, but there evolve from the base configuration. Doug Yates manufacturers to refine was change in the NASCAR air. states his design engineers have a critical role to elements to attempt to It was around this time that Dodge returned play, notably when rule changes are introduced. Powering Weke out every advantage. So, teams, drivers and to the NASCAR series and the number of teams ‘The roll out of fuel injection in 2012 and suppliers are put to the test every week. But and manufactures was transitioning. So, with switching to roller lifters last season were some strong long-term partnerships can exist, and anticipation that Toyota was set to bring F1 of the biggest changes to NASCAR engines in thrive with trust; think of Aston Martin and technology to the category, Jack Roush and the past 20 years,’ says Yates. ‘In 2015, NASCAR Prodrive, for example. Or, in NASCAR, Roush Yates decided in 2003 on a partnership to up made a major rule change for the NASCAR Yates Engines and Ford Performance. the ante and together build and run engines Sprint Cup series by implementing a tapered The Yates name has been synonymous and their own cars for the 2004 season (see spacer that reduced horsepower by over 130bhp. with NASCAR for over 40 years, Robert Yates box out). Kurt Busch lifted the top NASCAR At the same time they reduced the rpm target working as an engine builder for the illustrious trophy for the team in 2004 and by 2016, the from 9500 to 9000rpm and made the change Holman and Moody team before his eponymous partnership has evolved with Ford Performance from flat tappet lifters to roller lifters.’ NASCAR team scooped the Cup title in 1983 to encompass other premier programmes with Bobby Allison. Fast forward to 2000 and including the Le Mans-winning Ford GT race Virtual testing demand had led son Doug Yates to set up a engine, a twin-turbo Ford EcoBoost V6 racing Yates continues: ‘The ability to try new ideas in dedicated engine shop for the team. Supplying in the IMSA and FIA Series, and the Ford Shelby a virtual world provides us with the opportunity nine outfits with Ford engines, the Yates team GT350R-C race engine, which runs in the to be more efficient and flexible in testing Continental Sports Car Challenge Series. different theories and strategies without using significant raw materials. Getting real time Engine development feedback and analysis to the team in a much NASCAR now provides the official guidelines for shorter period of time provides us with the engine development, but some still reminisce latitude to make modifications quickly when about the old days of engine building; a time changes do come from the NASCAR sanctioning when a new cylinder head could unleash another body. Rapid prototyping and CFD tools are 50 horsepower (Robert Yates found that very just some of the tools that provide us with a amount in Ford’s C3 head back in 1992).Yet win-win situation, we have been able to become Roush Yates’ co-owner, and the son of Robert, more nimble by using these tools in a more Doug Yates, believes the new technology means sustainable environment. Technology offers the that the pace of development has never been potential for greater efficiency on the track, but more exciting in NASCAR. also within our facilities as well.’ Ford Performance’s first purpose built Yates’ vision of dedicating more resources NASCAR race engine, the Ford FR9 V8, a to development goes back to his university collaboration between Ford Performance and days and in particular one of his professors, Roush Yates Engines, has been around for over Joe David. ‘Joe had one of the first valvetrain

The twin-turbo Ecoboost V6 (right) has been produced for sportscar racing

Roush Yates developed the FR9 V8 NASCAR unit (above) in collaboration with Ford Performance

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 25 NASCAR - ROUSH YATES ENGINES

Above: Roush Yates Engines operates out of this hi-tech facility in the heart of NASCAR and manufacturing-wise, it has invested in country in Mooresville, North Carolina 30,000sq.ft of machine shop, filling it with 25 world class machines. Most recently it has ROUSH YATES scaled up resources for calibration, in part due to its activities on Ford’s GT engine. ‘We’ve been oush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine able to make a lot of advancements based on development company, with three state-of- information gathered at the track,’ says Yates. Rthe-art facilities based in Mooresville, NC; ‘In collaboration with Ford Performance we have which include Roush Yates Engines, Roush Yates been able to leverage each other’s resources, Performance Engines Group, focused on road racing, tools and experiences to create some of the and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world- racing world’s most advanced engines.’ class manufacturing centre. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing Converging technology hand-crafted race engines. In April, Roush Yates Engines announced a Jack Roush and Robert Yates partnered with technical partnership with Computational Ford Motor Company in 2003, joining forces as Fluid Dynamics (CFD) company Convergent the exclusive Ford Engine Builder for the NASCAR Roush Yates CEO Doug Yates believes Science. Its software was used on the Ford FR9 Series. These two legendary engine builders, led that NASCAR engine development has NASCAR engine – which is a very good example by president and CEO Doug Yates, turned this never been as exciting as it is right now of engineers seeking to optimise aspects not partnership into an immediate success by winning restricted by the organisers. ‘The Converge the 2004 Sprint Cup Championship. Since then test rigs, long before they were used in software has enabled us to see what is actually Roush Yates Engines has achieved over 276 wins NASCAR,’ Yates says. ‘That time was really happening inside the engine and accurately and 10 championships in NASCAR, IMSA and FIA valuable in understanding how engineering portray the combustion,’ says Yates. ‘It’s been affiliated motorsport competition. and development could improve performance particularly powerful for refining fuel injection, Roush Yates Engines supplies the NASCAR Ford on track and, since the creation of Roush looking at the best way to inject the fuel, create FR9 EFI V8 Sprint Cup racing engines to prestige Yates Engines, we’ve strived to adopt the best turbulence and extract more efficiency.’ race teams such as Roush Fenway Racing, Team engineering practices from a clean sheet of Like all of the resources Roush Yates Engines Penske, Richard Petty Motorsports, Wood paper, through manufacture, testing and racing.’ has at its disposal, the software will be leveraged Brothers, Front Row Motorsports and Go Green Roush Yates Engines’ state-of-the-art throughout the organisation with Roush Yates Racing, along with other major operations in the facilities – which include Roush Yates Engines, Engines keen to employ what it has learnt Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. Roush Roush Yates Performance Engines Group, in NASCAR to other programmes and vice Yates Engines also provides the twin-turbo Ford focused on road racing programmes, and versa. ‘NASCAR engines are moving towards EcoBoost V6 engines for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing ISO 9001/AS9100 certified Roush Yates the technology of road cars and that helps us in the IMSA and FIA sportscar series. Manufacturing Solutions – means it can deliver collaborate on other projects,’ Yates says. a project from concept to track, managing all ‘In my opinion the greatest benefit to the aspects of the programme. Its design centre series is the advancement in data acquisition is set up to handle the engine design work that we have been able to access with the

26 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com ‘Technology is key to generating future interest in the sport of NASCAR and other forms of motorsport’

Roush Yates has scaled up its calibration capabilities largely as a result of its work on the powerplant of the Le Mans class-winning Ford GT

Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) system. In Roush Yates NASCAR engine specs turn we have become a better engine Sprint Xfinity Truck development company. It sounds elementary, Engine Ford FR9 EFI Ford FR9 Carb Ford FR9 Carb but just having the water temperature, oil ci 358ci V8 358ci V8 358ci V8 temperature and RPM histogram for the race has been a huge benefit to advance the Engine Bore 4.18in (106.05mm) 4.19in (106.30mm) 4.19in (106.30mm) development of our engines,’ says Yates. Engine Stroke 3.26in (82.80mm) 3.26in (82.80mm) 3.26in (82.80mm) ‘In the past we would try and use tach recalls Injection Port Carb Carb and other creative methods for understanding Induction System Naturally Aspirated Naturally Aspirated Naturally Aspirated the duty cycle of the engine,’ Yates adds. ‘Now Comp Ratio 12.0:1 12.0:1 12.0:1 our data acquisition comes right from the racecar and it can be analysed and refined based on varying scenarios. This then allows us to push the limits of the racing engines and then in turn we can develop stronger and more durable engine components.’ Road relevance The core of his firm’s participation in advance analysis goes back to those early days of Yates’ career and the importance of the technology in motorsport to be relevant. ‘I don’t think it will be too long before we see direct injection and greater use of electronics to control the engine. It is relevant for the manufacturers, but also because engineers coming out of universities want to be working with relevant technology. Technology has attracted more engineers to the sport of NASCAR in the past five years and our involvement in the return to Le Mans has opened the door as well,’ Yates says. ‘It is clear to me that technology is key to generating future interest in the sport of NASCAR and Roush Yates is now in a technical partnership with Convergent CFD. Converge has enabled it other forms of motorsport.’ SE to see what is actually happening inside the engine and to accurately portray the combustion

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 27 COMPANY PROFILE - PWR Cool and the gang PWR supplies the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup fi eld with its cooling solutions – Stockcar Engineering took a trip down-under to discover the secrets of this uber-cool company’s success By SIMON McBEATH

PWR’s impressive purpose-built facility in Ormeau, Queensland, an hour south of Brisbane, was completed in 2009

nless you happen to work in certainly impresses. But it’s what’s behind the one of motorsport’s higher concrete, steel and glass frontage that explains echelon categories, it’s possible why this engineering enterprise has become that the discreet success of so successful. From its fl exible and entirely PWR Performance Products in-house manufacturing processes to its unique Umakes it one of the most famous motorsport design and development facility (a 30m bespoke suppliers you’ve never heard of. wind tunnel) and, perhaps most important, the As a manufacturer of cooling products professionalism and ‘can do’ culture imbued – radiators, oil coolers, intercoolers, heat by co-founder and CEO Kees Weel, PWR exchangers, cold plates and associated products seems to have aligned all its resources in just – PWR started supplying motorsport less than the right way to dovetail with the demanding 20 years ago. But PWR’s portfolio of categories requirements of professional motorsport. Matthew Bryson, PWR general where it has taken signifi cant market share now To understand how the company brought manager includes F1, NASCAR, DTM, IndyCar, LMP1, itself into this position it helps to go through LMP2 and LMP3, V8 Supercars and WRC, to a brief history. General manager, engineering, name just a few. Naturally, the company won’t Matthew Bryson recounted the tale: ‘It all discuss individual clients in detail but it is started as a small family enterprise when Kees well-known that it has supplied cooling Weel founded K&J  ermal Products [in 1987] solutions to several F1 championship-winning making aftermarket road and performance car teams. Stewart Haas Racing and Penske Racing radiators and related products. In the mid-90s have won NASCAR Sprint Cup Series using PWR Kees’ son Paul joined the company and the pair products and its products have also recorded a saw that the trend for radiator construction 1-2-3 fi nish on the Dakar Rally. was moving towards aluminium. So they took Being selected for these, and many more the brave step to install an aluminium CAB successful campaigns in highly demanding [controlled atmosphere brazing] furnace in applications, is down to a combination of factors 1996. Two years later they established Paul that have made this Queensland, Australia- Weel Radiators (PWR), with Paul in charge, to based business the supplier of choice for race manufacture radiators for custom road and Paul Weel is the co-founder of PWR teams and, in some cases, race categories (as a Australian motorsport markets. [Kees and control supplier) around the world. Paul also became involved in racing themselves, running Paul Weel Racing and competing in Business building V8 Supercars for 10 years]. During 1998, the Arriving at PWR’s modern corporate Holden Racing Team notched up the fi rst headquarters buildings just off the Pacifi c high level success for PWR-manufactured Highway in Ormeau, an hour south of Brisbane, radiators by winning the Bathurst 1000 that

28 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com Cool and the gang

F1 market meant new methods to make complex core shapes

PWR supplies complete billet-tanked assemblies

A cutaway example of a surface plate cooler for an electric car Radiators are made for all sorts of competition cars. This is for a Subaru

showing them data and samples, and it became obvious that what we could off er was diff erent to what they were used to, which was stock OE cores being cut down to suit. We had data and fl exible designs – our philosophy has always been to produce custom units even if it is a one-off – and it was now possible to adjust the cooling and the associated aerodynamic parameters. NASCAR had not previously had quite the fl exibility of choice for core construction up to that stage, and in a short time, around two years or so, we found we were supplying half the fi eld.’ Formula 1 work At this stage PWR had not chased any F1 Examples of extruded tubing showing part of the range of sizes handled. The larger tube opportunities but the aim had always been features simple stamped turbulators. These are the only bought-in components at PWR there. en, in late 2008: ‘We had a booth at PMW Cologne and an F1 technical director year, and this was something that did no harm the globe. So they embarked on the construction stopped by to have a look at us,’ Bryson says. at all to PWR’s credibility.’ of the new facility, which not only had to have ‘We told him what we could do and shared all of Bryson joined the company in 2000. ‘So capable facilities but to also look the part. It our production and component options. Early PWR had become three people and was looking took about 18 months to be fully operational,’ in 2009 we had received initial drawings and, to expand. By 2001 opportunities in the USA Bryson explains. In the meantime PWR by May 2009, we had built our fi rst profi led were appearing and so PWR USA was set up in Europe was incorporated in 2007, and is cooler – up until then everything had been California to provide performance products, now based at Tamworth in the UK. rectangular! We had to teach ourselves how to though not really race products at this stage. e company was confi dent that the do that. But we had always thrived on a “can do” en in 2003 K&J was sold, which was good products emerging from the new manufacturing approach and motorsport has loved that, being timing because the replacement radiator facility at Ormeau were good, but decided that able to provide what they want, when they business seemed to be on the decline. But Kees it needed to understand them better and also want it. e business has always been built on and Paul retained PWR and started to hatch be able to provide real performance data. So in both quality of product and quality of service, grand plans. e bold idea was to build a new early 2008 a small wind tunnel was constructed and our customers know that we are a reliable factory to “go after the world”, the aim being to that was able to test 300mm x 300mm core partner, and that they can trust we will deliver provide its cooling products to Formula 1, WEC, samples. Bryson says: ‘By the middle of 2008 on both aspects.’ Initially, as PWR established a and all the top motorsport categories around Kees was meeting with NASCAR teams and presence in F1, it was just supplying cores and

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING  - NOVEMBER  - www.racecar-engineering.com 29 COMPANY PROFILE - PWR

Aluminium strip is converted to concertinaed fin strips on this piece of machinery Two examples from the very wide variety of different fin strip sizes and configurations

Louvre size and angle can also be varied on the fins to meet with customer demands Stacking of fins, tubes and side plates to build up oil cooler cores prior to brazing

Loading the ‘controlled atmosphere brazing’ or CAB furnace with clamped core stacks Brazing is a multi-stage process in the CAB. Cores are cleaned and flux-coated first

the customer then fabricated the assembly with established company, C&R Racing, as Bryson their part at the time, but they became our tanks, connections and other parts themselves, explains: ‘C&R supplied radiators and oil coolers largest single customer in the United States but it is now supplying complete billet-tanked and although their fabrication was good they and the relationship between both companies assemblies for many of its F1 customers. didn’t manufacture cores in-house or have the immediately worked well. Then in April 2015 Meanwhile, progress was ongoing in other same flexibility for core development as PWR. PWR acquired C&R, which now operates as categories, too. PWR USA was relocated to So we competed fiercely with them initially, C&R Racing, and we are continuing to grow Mooresville, NC, in 2009, in the heart of but not too long into our involvement in US into the aftermarket in the US.’ NASCAR country, where: ‘A focused effort was racing we figured that as a core manufacturer In 2012, and in partnership with Dallara, made to support and service the category to the it would be good if we were able to work with PWR became a control supplier to IndyCar, level it deserved,’ Bryson says. C&R so we approached them to buy cores from supplying water radiators and oil coolers, and in The company is now supplying 100 per cent us. Naturally, they greeted us very cautiously other categories PWR works with WEC teams, of the Sprint Cup field with every car having at first, but they visited us at PWR in Australia is control supplier to DTM, Super GT and Super at least some PWR coolers. When first dealing to see our manufacturing and testing facilities Formula in Japan, and has a big involvement in with NASCAR and entering the US market, and decided they had to make it work. To GT3 and Australian Supercars. It also supplies PWR found itself competing with the well- their credit that was a real leap of faith on the control intercooler to the BTCC. Niche

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Untitled-1 1 18/11/2016 12:10:35 COMPANY PROFILE - PWR

Here’s a generic sample of PWR cooler cores showing the tubes and the fins Tank with its integral connections is welded to a core to become the finished product

The company’s new multi-pallet 5-axis machining centres have increased capacity Pressure testing of a welded cooler in the water bath to make sure it’s perfectly sealed

Quality assurance makes use of mechanical and laser coordinate measuring machines High end aerodynamics demand non-rectangular cores (above left). Intercooler (above)

OEM cars are also on PWR’s customer list, company is now producing a range of surface for PWR, says that: ‘PWR operates very much too, including the Porsche 918 Spyder. Bryson plate cooling and battery cooling solutions for like a race team, and is able to provide rapid says: ‘Providing an efficient and robust cooling these emerging technologies. responses to customers’ needs.’ solution for Porsches running at the Daytona In 2012 the new, larger wind tunnel was This point was taken up by Bryson: ‘We try 24 Hours led to us supplying GT Cup cars, completed and the company believes this to make dealing with us as easy as possible. which in turn led to a wider awareness of has given it a real competitive edge in the We are driven by passion, and we are in the PWR and an involvement in the 918 project. motorsport market place. fortunate position of being able to see how Motorsport drives you forward technically ‘Our small wind tunnel could only do our products help our customers. We can and this has helped us establish credibility 300mm square sample water and oil radiators get swept along by all that!’ with niche OEM projects, too.’ and, useful though that was, as our Formua 1 work expanded we wanted a facility to develop House rules Electric fans solutions for complete installations,’ Bryson Helping to ensure PWR’s agile responsiveness in The company has also started work on cooling explains. ‘And so we built the new wind tunnel a demanding market sector like motorsport is systems for the electric car market, although as to replicate the two main high level applications, that every key aspect of manufacture is carried Bryson says: ‘We weren’t sure at first if electric Formula 1 and NASCAR.’ out in house. So all the relevant components, cars were a threat or an opportunity. It turns Senior engineer Andi Scott, who moved including radiator cores, side plates, tanks and out they represent a big opportunity.’ The from working with race teams in the UK to work fittings are made by PWR. This involves a range

32 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com of specific machinery, plus section, one perhaps for THE WEEL DEAL conventional presses, air/water, another maybe multi-axis machining for oil/water with baffles in utch-born Australian Kees Weel started centres and welding between, which may require his working life as an apprentice mechanic operations. The only raw different core densities Don Holden Cars back in the early 1970s material that is bought in for best heat transfer. Or before a spell mining in Papua New Guinea. He ‘part-manufactured’ at PWR optimisation of a core may moved to Queensland’s Gold Coast in 1987 and is a range of extruded flat dictate that the core density then established his first radiator manufacturing aluminium tubing. is varied across the face in operation – the rest is recounted in our main piece. One method specific to order to provide an even When interviewed by the local media following the radiator manufacture at the thermal gradient. That successful stock flotation of the company in 2015, front end of the process uses Header tank: just one of the many PWR manufactures all its he responded pithily to the question on how it Tank with its integral connections is welded to a core to become the finished product purpose-made tools to carry out products produced by PWR own cores gives it the ability to felt to become an overnight success by saying: ‘It’s the pressing, folding and cutting assemble different core densities taken three decades to be an overnight success.’ operations that turn thin aluminium strip into in a single cooler and then enables it to meet And this seems to typify the no-nonsense concertinaed sections of the ‘micro-louvred’ this requirement when it is needed. directness of PWR’s CEO, managing director and fins that form the large surface area within a business development manager. He recounted radiator core from which heat is transported. A Aero demands anecdotes that also demonstrated his equally wide range of tooling for these machines enables A particular feature of high end applications forthright approach with prospective customers. fin height, pitch and louvre design and angle to such as Formula 1 is that external aerodynamics ‘In 2008 I met with Jack Roush and various other be modified to suit different demands. Further has dictated sculpted sidepods into which NASCAR folk, and I had with me samples of tubes, machines roll the edges of the fin material into rectangular coolers would no longer fit. Hence, cores and so forth. I told him: “I will be more double thickness to increase robustness. back in 2009/10 when PWR first became expensive than your current supplier.” Jack Roush ‘Core stacks’ of alternating tube and fin involved in Formula 1, it had to develop new stood up, shook my hand and said: “You’re the sections together with side plates are skills to create non-rectangular cores. Precise partner we want; we don’t want the cheapest who assembled on easels and then held in clamps details of the process are secret but cores can’t supply what we want, when we want it.” And I prior to passing through the controlled can be made the desired shape and are then say that everywhere we go, but also that when you Pressure testing of a welded cooler in the water bath to make sure it’s perfectly sealed atmosphere brazing (CAB) furnace. Those meticulously final-trimmed and finished by buy from us you get a part of us.’ components that are to be brazed have been hand. CNC-machined tanks and side plates are Weel expands on this last point on the PWR pre-coated in what is referred to as ‘clad’. This is then painstakingly matched, fitted and welded website, saying ‘We like to point out when entering a thin aluminium alloy coating that has a lower to the cores to produce the finished item. into a business relationship, that we don’t want melting point than the parent metal beneath, Needless to say, the whole process of to just sell the customer a radiator, we want to sell and is what then melts and bonds the adjacent producing a product like this is highly labour- them a business relationship that means they can surfaces together in the CAB furnace. intensive, which helps to explain the price tag of use our engineering department to purpose-build The brazing process is a multi-stage one in this type of cooler. It has to be said, though, that exactly what they want.’ This was clearly the motive which the assembled cores are cleaned, dried the workmanship is exquisite, not to mention that catalysed the building of the new factory and and coated in flux before passing into the (necessarily) dimensionally highly accurate the bespoke wind tunnel. In Kees Weel’s words: ‘We oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere within the It seems to be working, too. At the time decided to build a facility to take on the world.’ main furnace at around 600degC. The cores of Stockcar’s visit the company’s prospectus But how does the CEO see the company then cool prior to being pressure tested, after showed turnover approaching AU$50m (£29m), expanding without losing its trademark which the tanks with integral connections are with in excess of 185 employees on the books responsiveness? ‘It’s important that we don’t lose welded in place to become a finished radiator, or worldwide. Illustrating that its location in who we are as we expand,’ said Weel, before adding: oil cooler, or intercooler. Australia is no barrier to its activities, in 2015 ‘But we can double in size.’ 59 per cent of sales were to the UK and Europe, There’s a tangible drive that runs throughout Billet built 25 per cent to the USA, 15 per cent to Australia the workforce at PWR, and there’s no doubting Manufacture of the tanks has conventionally and one per cent in Japan. And a successful where it comes from: ‘I’m passionate about what we involved pressed aluminium sheet parts, in stock flotation in 2015 valued the company at do; I eat, sleep and shit radiators, mate,’ Weel says. one or more pieces that are welded to the ends over AU$300m (£178m); so its well-placed to or sides of the cores, as appropriate. However, invest in future expansion plans. for more demanding applications PWR also Weeler dealer: CNC machines the tanks from billet; this not Radiating growth PWR Co-founder, only gives greater control over thickness, PWR has achieved its success so far by focussing CEO and MD, but can also enable internal rib structures on what it calls elite motorsport such as Kees Weel and local thickening to be incorporated to NASCAR and Formula 1. It sees its future provide improved strength and stiffness. growth in expanding uptake in that same sector 5-axis machining centres are employed for but also into the huge global motorsport market these processes and new machines were and emerging technologies. This will require being installed during our visit to the PWR a fine balancing act between expanding while headquarters, to increase its capacity. retaining the responsiveness that has been One aspect of high end applications is that crucial to its success so far. One thing’s certain, core density does not have to be uniform; a though; the PWR name will become much more single cooler may encompass more than one widespread at all levels. SE

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 33 TECHNOLOGY - SIMULATION Oval simulation 101 In Part 2 of Stockcar Engineering’s masterclass on using simulation for oval racing our numbers man runs through the vital first steps in creating your racecar model and also shows why aero maps and tyre modelling need not be intimidating By DANNY NOWLAN

n the first instalment of Oval simulation 101 (SE 14) I discussed the benefits of using racecar simulation for an oval application. In particular, how simulation comes into its own as a tool to predict Iloads, specify dampers and filling in the blanks of data you don’t have. However, all of this is useless if you don’t know where to start. This is what we’ll be discussing here. One of the greatest misconceptions about using racecar simulation is that you need millions of dollars of equipment and terabytes of data to get the job done. I can tell you right now this is sheer and unadulterated rubbish and I lay this to rest in no uncertain terms during the ChassisSim simulation boot camps. Everything that I’m going to be discussing here I show first hand in the ChassisSim oval simulation boot camp that we host annually in Charlotte in the first week of December. Creating a car model for simulation is just attention to detail and listing out what you need. In short here is the plan of attack: • Measure up your suspension geometry points • Measure up your motion ratios • Classify bar and spring rates • Note gear ratios and engine curves • Put your dampers on a damper dyno • Classify the aero Figure 1: ChassisSim suspension geometry calculator will help you avoid simple errors • Get some idea of your tyres work. Your best defence against this is a tool EQUATION 1 Everything in the above list is pretty simple. like the ChassisSim suspension geometry It’s just attention to detail and being patient. calculator, as shown in Figure 1. 2 The things that will trip you up is measuring This is the ChassisSim interface for entering = MRWR ⋅ SR suspension geometry, motion ratios, classifying your geometry points. You’ll find a button called Where: the aero and getting a rough start on the tyres. Analyse Configuration. When you hit this it will WR = Wheel rate (spring rate the tyre sees) This is what we’ll be focusing on in this article. tell you what your roll centre is and your anti MR = Motion ratio (damper/wheel) The trick with suspension geometry is dive and anti squat numbers. The key is to use SR = Spring rate of the spring and bar. to measure up and evaluate as you go. The this straight after you have measured up your biggest pitfall I see with people measuring up points. If you get roll centres of +/- 400mm ChassisSim suspension geometry calculator, suspension geometry is that they’ll go to all this or anti figures that are like 4000 per cent, you by the way. The key point is you check as you trouble to measure up the points, they’ll make know you have screwed up, so this forms a measure. If you do that then you should be fine. a mistake somewhere on the way, and then great sanity check. I couldn’t care less if you The second thing to get right is motion they get all shocked and shaken when it doesn’t used WinGeo, SusProg, OptimumK or the ratios. When it comes to measuring up a racecar

34 STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com Creating a racecar model for simulation is about paying attention to detail and carefully listing out what you need

Table as fixed reference to measure wheel movement this is one of the most overlooked aspects, yet it is of critical importance. The reason it’s so important is how it affects wheel rate, see Equation 1. Given how this is a square function you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you make an error it will have a significant knock on effect. Motion ratios Car jack to move the wheel up and down The good news is, getting it right is a lot simpler than you might think. All you need is a rig that looks like Figure 2. What you do is take Figure 2: Here is a fairly simple rig for measuring up the motion ratios on your racecar the spring off the damper/spring assembly and disconnect the bars (but you leave them attached). You also have the car on a set of stands. Then get a table next to the tyre and a dial gauge or vernier on top of the table. You then crank the wheel up using a tyre jack and measure the spring/bar displacement. As with suspension geometry you plot as you go. If you have done your job right you will wind up with something that looks like Figure 3. You know you have done the job correctly when the graph in Figure 3 is continuous. That is, there are no spikes. If you make a mistake, then go back and measure the point you have just messed up. Like with suspension geometry it’s very simple, but it can save you an awful lot Figure 3: What a good motion ratio measurement looks like if the job is done properly of headaches down the road. Also, if you have the resources, it is definitely worth your while taking your car to Morse Mechanism 2 - air flowing over the wings Measurements in Salisbury, North Carolina. It will provide a lot of the answers for suspension geometry and motion ratios for you, and to top it all off Bob Simmons at Morse is a very knowledgeable operator. Mapping aero The next port of call is deducing an aero map for the car. It is a question that trips up a lot Mechanism 1 - air being accelerated underneath the car of potential simulation users, mainly because they will usually run in terror because they Figure 4: This shows the primary methods of downforce generation on a racecar don’t have a clue where to start. Fortunately, our road racing cousins have gone a long way to Table 1: Approximate aero numbers based on splitter clearance answering this question. In order to resolve this question we need Static ride height splitter clearance CLACDA Aero balance to understand the mechanisms of downforce 120 mm or 5in 1.5 1.2 30-40% generation. These methods are illustrated in 80 – 100 mm or 3 – 4in 2 1.3 40% Figure 4. The first and primary method of <50mm or < 2in 2.5+ 1.3 40-50% downforce generation is airflow being directed underneath the car. The second is airflow over

STOCKCAR ENGINEERING 15 - NOVEMBER 2016 - www.racecar-engineering.com 35 TECHNOLOGY - SIMULATION

Table 2: Settings to generate a If you make a mistake, go back and ride height sensitivity map Parameter Range/Setting measure the point you have just messed Ride Height Range 0- 50mm up. Like with suspension geometry, it’s CLA 3 – 2.5

CDA 1.3 – 0.9 very simple, but it can save you an awful Aero balance 40 -50 lot of headaches down the road

the rear wing/spoiler. In racecar aerodynamics car was delivering a CLA of 1.5. You do not need your boat. Then NASCAR R&D came onboard as you can be forgiven a lot of sins provided you to have a NASCAR research and development ChassisSim customers and I got exposed to the have a good front splitter set-up. This directs the department to tell you where the bulk of the aero numbers. Part of me was totally surprised air underneath the car and forces the rest of the downforce is coming from. but when I thought about it was obvious all underbody of the car to act in primitive ground To that end, some rough rules of thumb along. In terms of what style of aero map to effect. A good example is a Porsche 997 Cup for determining downforce figures are shown use you have two options. Car. Its aerodynamic devices are a front splitter in Table 1. This is based on data we have seen The first option is to use a constant ride and a big rear wing. There is no diffuser. When from a sedan body shape with a wheelbase in height aero map. That is, the aero coefficients you crunch the numbers on the rear wing, it’s the order of 2.8m or 110in. For any doubting don’t vary with ride heights. I have actually delivering a peak CLA of 0.3 -0.4. Overall the Thomas’s out there, don’t worry I used to be in had stockcar customers in the past running CL¬A of 1.5 on road courses who have used this approach very successfully. Splitter clearance However, if you are running a static ride height splitter clearance less than 75mm or 3in on an oval you will need ride height sensitivity. Fortunately, this is not as intimidating as it sounds because while I can’t speak for other simulation packages ChassisSim has a few tricks up its sleeve to help you. Let me illustrate via an example using a NASCAR Sprint Cup car with a static ride height splitter clearance of 50mm. In ChassisSim under the aero modelling tab you will find an aero map generator. Some settings to get you going are shown in Table 2. As a rough rule of thumb, the lower the ride height the higher the aero parameter is. When you are done you’ll have something that looks very much like Figure 5. I’m the first one to admit this is far from perfect, but at least it will get you started. Also, if you do happen to have the budget then there are a couple of resources with regards Figure 5: An approximated CLA aero map for a NASCAR Sprint Cup car on ChassisSim to aero you need to have at your fingertips. Firstly, it’s worth having a chat to the people at the A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, North Carolina. It is a great facility and Gary Eaker knows his stuff. The other resource is TotalSim USA, which is run by Ray Leto. He knows his stuff, too, and has the rare quality of not falling in love with his own publicity. When it comes to CFD he is the man, and he also has extensive experience with oval racecars. The last piece of the puzzle is tyres. If aerodynamics isn’t enough to get potential simulation users terrified then tyre modelling will certainly finish of the job. However, once Figure 6: Example of correlation between the ChassisSim track replay and actual data you scratch beneath the surface it is actually a

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Untitled-83 1 29/09/2016 09:50 TECHNOLOGY - SIMULATION

Once you scratch beneath the surface, tyre modelling is actually a lot less intimidating than you might imagine

lot less intimidating than you might imagine. The first task you will need to do is to classify your tyre loads. So how do you do this with little or no data logging? This is where the ChassisSim track replay will be your new best friend. An example of its output is shown in Figure 6. Actual is coloured and simulated is black. As you can see the difference is negligible. What this means is that we have nailed the tyre loads. So our next job is to quantify what the tyre loads are doing. All you need to do is to open the simulated track replay data and interrogate the tyre loads. You will then be looking at something very much like Figure 7. You need to note where the peaks are and give them +100kgf Figure 7: Plot of simulated tyre loads – 100kgf needs to be added to the peak loads on top of the peak tyre loads. Once this is done we’ll use the second order fit of the traction circle radius vs tyre loads to fill in the blanks. Just to remind everyone, see Equation 2. Here’s where things get exciting. We can now break this down into a peak load and initial co-efficient of friction representation of the tyre force curve. This is illustrated inFigure 8. Magic trick So at this point you might be thinking, so what? Well to quote the Joker from the Dark Knight I’m about to show you a magic trick. You take the peak loads from the simulated data in Figure 7 and then all you need to do is a static force balance to work out the initial co-efficient of friction. For the finishing touch you then go Figure 8: Initial coefficient of friction and peak tyre load representation of the tyre curve back into ChassisSim and fine tune the peak slip angles to fine tune the steering correlation. A number of you may be thinking well this is all well and good but where is the payoff? Well, the payoff comes when you get correlation like that which is shown in Figure 9. Due to customer confidentiality I have had to blank out the scalings. But once you have something like this you have the basis to start playing all the ‘what ifs’. With the limited testing you get and no data acquisition during the race events, Figure 9 is pretty much gold dust. In closing, creating a vehicle model for oval applications is not as onerous as you think. It’s Figure 9: Actual vs simulated NASCAR data – this is where the number crunching pays off a matter of following a simple procedure and being thorough. Also, the sticking points are not EQUATION 2 as intimidating as you think. With suspension geometry and motion ratios you just need to double check your measurements and plot as TC RAD = )1( ⋅⋅− FFkk zzba you go. With aero there are some simple rules of where: thumb you can use to get into the ballpark. Also, TCrad = Traction Circle radius (N) as discussed, tyres are not as intimidating as ka = initial coefficient of friction you think. The payoff is it lays the ground work kb = drop off of coefficient with load for what you see in Figure 9. This gives you an Fz = load on the tyre (N) advantage that is well worth the effort you’ll expend in getting there. SE

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