CFD stands for computational fluid dynamics: computer-based analysis of the behavior of fluids and physical systems like air. CFD analysis predicts for drag, downforce, and stability of race cars at different speeds on straights, during cornering or through crosswinds.
A CFD-based aerodynamics motorsports program enables quicker development cycles and cost savings over traditional wind tunnel testing. The ability to predict aerodynamic performance in a quick, iterative and highly correlated manner, allows automotive aerodynamics engineers (or motorsports aerodynamicists) to optimize car aero elements right from their workstation, before any parts are built and deployed in the real world.
AMB has more than 15 years of experience using ANSYS Fluent CFD software the same used by our Formula 1 customer teams. We constantly seek increasing our own CFD to real-world correlation among a diverse range of vehicles, from production cars to racers of every style. Combining our 3D Scanning & Reverse Engineering capabilities with CFD-based aerododynamics testing, AMB Aero offers a comprehensive solution for all your aerodynamic needs.
Comparative Analysis: AMB Aero’s Intrascale™ Compute Cluster vs Traditional Aerodynamic Solutions for Motorsports
In the realm of aerodynamic analysis for motorsport vehicles, cloud providers like AirShapr provide a wonderful service for occasional work. They typically charge around $50 per single simulation run which is quite useful for light work with a small test count. Similarly, Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 instances would incur comparable costs costing thousands in “bare-metal” compute time for even a mild project. A current model high end desktop computer would take one year to complete a mere 300 iterations making it useless in this context. However, it’s crucial to consider the value and quality that AMB Aero’s Intrascale™ Compute Cluster offers with its advanced motorsport-grade iteration capabilities at a competitive price point. Our cluster has been full recouped and costs almost nothing to use in comparison. Offering us a huge cost advantages. The 2019 Formula 1 regulations for CFD compute mean our cluster has more TFLOPS (compute power) than allowed to an F1 team!
In modern motorsports such as prototype racing and Formula 1, where performing 2000 iterations during the off-season is the absolute minimum to conduct real work (as regulated), achieving at least 300 OEM-grade iterations is the absolute minimum for meaningful results. AMB routinely refuses projects where significant enough iteration is out of budget to provide motorsport-grade results. The cloud usage fees alone for these services equal the entire project budget of an AMB package meaning cloud solutions collapse on their compute fees or force designers to make shortcuts.
Higher iteration counts enable engineers to refine computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations more accurately, optimizing vehicle aerodynamics and improving on-track performance. With the Intrascale™ Compute Cluster’s advanced capabilities, AMB can deliver motorsport-grade results in less time compared to traditional methods or cloud solutions. See our customer stories section for all the successes that have resulted from our approach.
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