INDYCAR – STABILITY IN A SPIN

The critical
speed

Today’s IndyCars have proved they are quick enough to

become surface-to-air missiles. Here’s how engineers
react to try and prevent that happening
Walt Kuhn

By FRANCESCO MANARA AND MARCO MILANETTI

W
hat makes the Indy twice its own weight. This means the car parameter: the critical speed. As the lift force
500 unique in the could easily run upside down, pushed to the increases with the square of the velocity,
racing environment track by the air, despite the force of gravity. if a car has a positive lift coefficient there
is speed. The best- It is easy to imagine, then, that when will always be a sufficiently high velocity to
qualified car in 2020 reached an average losing control of a car at that speed, taking raise the car, or to flip it around its axle. The
lap speed of more than 230mph. it out of its design conditions, the forces speed at which the aerodynamic lift equals
Clearly, the honour of being the fastest generated on the vehicle can quickly lead the weight of the car is defined as the critical
race in the world comes with the burden to catastrophic results. In several conditions, speed. The target of the development,
of many additional and bigger safety especially when air is channelled under therefore, is to increase that parameter so that
issues. The cars are always at the limit of the floor, the car can become a lifting it is higher than the car’s maximum speed. In
every component’s design range, while body, rather than a downforcing one, and any condition below this speed, the car is safe.
the drivers see everything happening at the aero force can overcome the weight In parallel, the designers faced another
twice the average speed of a normal track. of the car, leading to a real take-off. challenge. It was maybe less obvious, but
Moreover, doubling the speed increases still a significant one in terms of driver safety.
kinetic energy by four times, so any impact Aerodynamic stability One way to reduce the risk of take-off is
with the barriers, or with flying debris, may So when you are dealing with the to reduce car speed at the point it reaches
potentially be a much more dangerous one. aerodynamic stability of such a racecar, the its lift-inducing dynamic conditions.
From the aero side as well, such a very first thing to work on is to reduce the lift In this respect, the more the car slows
condition brings further safety concerns. coefficient in any circumstances the car could down before hitting the wall, the less
When travelling at 230mph, the car is subject face. Rather than just monitoring it, though, powerful the impact will be. In addition, at
to almost 3000lb of aerodynamic load, almost engineers introduced a more meaningful a lower speed the mechanical rebound will

28 www.racecar-engineering.com MAY 2021

 In several conditions, especially when
air is channelled under the floor, the car
can become a lifting body, rather than a
downforcing one, and the aero force can
overcome the weight of the car leading
to a real take-off

also be reduced, making it less likely the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was
car achieves lifting conditions. Therefore, identified early on as the ideal instrument
besides increasing the critical speed, the to study such extreme conditions. Scale
ability to reduce car speed after losing wind tunnel models were also examined in
control is an important safety target as great detail to allow very precise, but small
well. If the car has more downforce (less changes of ride height to be assessed.
lift) while sliding towards the barriers, the
friction generated by the tyres is greater, Side wind
and the velocity of the impact reduces. The first cause of concern was the condition
From this point of view, the choice with the car losing control and sliding
to work with Dallara as single chassis sideways in yaw, where the angle between
supplier since 2012 allowed IndyCar to the direction of the wind and the car
create a series where the focus on safety is centreline is 90 degrees. Such a condition
prominent, something that can be harder can also occur after a crash with another car.
to achieve in categories where there is From the aero point of view, the car is
competition among constructors. travelling sideways through the air at over
As often happens in pioneering 200mph, as shown in Figure 1. The diffuser
engineering applications, unfortunately, and wings don’t work at this angle, so they
the engineers learned some harsh lessons are not generating the usual downforce. On
from catastrophic crashes. In their never- the contrary, the low central keel blocks the
ending effort to improve safety, IndyCar air passage under the car, causing a high-
and Dallara started to study the effect of pressure zone in this area (see Figure 2).
aerodynamics on the cars in potentially At the same time, on the upper side the air
lifting conditions in 2010. Year by year experiences the acceleration determined
since then, the range of studied conditions by the convex surfaces of the sidepod, nose
Dan Wheldon tests the new car, here labelled the has widened, so more different set- and engine cover, and subsequent lower
IR12. The car was later re-named DW12 in his honour ups have been analysed and safety has pressure levels. The integral sum of the
improved in these conditions as a result. pressure field results in a lift force on the car

All CDF images: Dallara

Figure 1: Suction areas on the upper body at 90-degrees yaw Figure 2: Compression areas on the lower body at 90-degrees yaw

MAY 2021 www.racecar-engineering.com 29

INDYCAR – STABILITY IN A SPIN

that, at a certain speed (the aforementioned

critical speed), equals and overcomes the
car weight and determines take-off.
The DW12 car, which made its debut
in 2012, was the first occurrence of an
aerodynamic design process which put side-
wind stability ahead of pure performance. In
fact, its shape was born after over a year of
dedicated study to improve the downforce
and the critical speed in these conditions.

Domed skids
After a few years without critical crashes, in
2015, when the constructors’ Aerokits arrived,
some heavy crashes occurred during Indy500
practice. Consequently, for 2016 IndyCar
introduced the domed skids, the main

Chris Owens
purpose of which was to slow down the cars
and reduce the strength of any impacts, after
it was discovered take-off actually occurred
at 180 degrees, after the car hit the wall. Honda unveils its Aerokit in 2015 as manufacturers took a more active role in the design of their racecars
But what do these domed skids look like,
and how do they work? They were actually
first seen in 2007, in the previous generation
car, and consisted of a convex surface on
the bottom of the car in the transversal flow
direction, which at 90-degrees yaw induce a
suction generating downforce (see Figure 3).
Unfortunately, as mechanics often use
the flat surface of the underwing skid as a
reference for measurements, a drawback
of the domed skids was they removed an
important reference for set-up, so made the
race engineers’ job more difficult at the track.
A deep analysis followed the 2016 crashes.
In general, it is not easy to understand the
tyres’ conditions when a car is spinning
at 230mph as everything happens in a
few tenths of a second. The visible smoke Figure 3: Domed skid effect at 90-degrees yaw
generated by the high level of friction
between tyre and ground used to be the
most evident signal that tyres were slowing
the car down. Following the introduction
of the domed skid, engineers noted the
spinning car tyres weren’t generating
smoke any more. This was a hint that, as
a result of the huge loads generated in
the 90-degree yaw condition, the tyres
were exploding, therefore becoming
ineffective in slowing the car while sliding.
That suggested the downforce obtained
with the domed skid in that particular
condition was maybe even too high.

Lateral bumps
For this reason, the domed skids were Figure 4: Effect of the side bumps that replaced the domed skids
removed in the 2018 Universal Aerokit,
but their effect was partially restored
with some lateral side bumps on the As a result of the huge loads generated in
underwing, which generate a peak of
local suction, as shown in Figure 4. the 90-degree yaw condition, the tyres were
exploding, therefore becoming ineffective in
Moreover, the necessity to keep the
critical speed at 90-degrees yaw under

slowing the car

control brought additional vertical fins on
the nose and on the engine cover as well.

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INDYCAR – STABILITY IN A SPIN

Once any external James Hinchcliffe tests the

phenomenon brings
Universal Aerokit in 2018

the car’s nose up

to five degrees,
the underwing acts
like a sail

Joe Skibinski/IndyCar
Finally, a detail already discussed at length
in a previous issue of Racecar Engineering
(V30N10), was the introduction of a vertical
wicker that extended from the nose to the
convex, lifting surface of the polycarbonate
windscreen when the Aeroscreen was
implemented in 2020. The impact of the
Aeroscreen on 90-degree take-off stability,
which was originally detrimental, turned
into in a beneficial contribution thanks to
this small but important modification.

Nose down
In 2014, IndyCar and Dallara started to
consider another take-off condition.
Following analysis of the most recent and
dramatic crashes, the designers realised Figure 5: Aerodynamic forces at five-degree, nose-up pitch
that if any event had lifted the nose of the
car, the flow could easily raise the car body,
as shown in Figure 5. One of the most
common situations that could bring the car
nose up is the front wheels impacting the
rear wheels of the car ahead. The counter-
rotating direction of the two tyres acts as
a springboard, launching the nose of the
following car into the air. This principle is
generally true also for a front-wheel contact
with any part of the bodywork of the car
ahead, or between nose and rear wheels.
Therefore, when designing the new
generation (2012-2014) car, much attention
was put on mechanical measures to Figure 6: Comparison between the DW12 (yellow) and IR11 (red) underwing in plan view
prevent interlocking wheels in side-by-
side racing. This resulted in the design
of a wider and longer flat underwing
and the adoption of a rear bumper
From an aero point of view, the
comparison between the 2011 IR11 car
and the 2012 DW12 in a five-degree,
nose-up pitch condition showed the
take-off attitude was actually worsened
by the new underwing surface. Figure 6
shows a comparison between the two.
It is easy to understand how this can
contribute to the take-off attitude of each
car as, once any external phenomenon
brings the car’s nose up to five degrees,
Chris Owens

the underwing acts like a sail and Honda’s version of the

lifts the car into the air. The larger the ‘underwing’ for the road
sail, the bigger the lifting force. street course in 2018

32 www.racecar-engineering.com MAY 2021

INDYCAR – STABILITY IN A SPIN

Figure 7: Effect of underwing holes on underwing compression in five-degree nose-up condition

In order to increase the critical speed

in this nose-up condition, a large hole
was introduced on each side of the front
underwing, as shown in Figure 7, with
the aim of reducing its surface area in
plan view. The holes also had the effect of
relieving compression in the surrounding
area of the floor. The consequence of
these combined effects was an increase
in the critical speed of 30mph – a huge,
and very worthwhile, improvement.

Table 1: Effect of underwing holes on

nose-up critical speed
Configuration ∆Vcrit
IR11 222mph
DW12 190mph
DW12 with underwing holes 222mph

Obviously, giving away such a wide Figure 8: Castroneves’ 2015 practice take-off after a rear impact with the wall
piece of the underwing area also produced
a big downforce loss in standard conditions.
Fortunately, the Aerokit introduced
that same year (2015) brought a big
performance increase, together with some
further complications and a significant
rise in the cost. The net result was the
adoption of this critical safety feature did
not cause a reduction in performance.
So much so, IndyCar and Dallara retained
similar holes with the IR18 Universal Aerokit,
in order to keep the nose-up critical speed
inside an acceptable safety range.

180-degree yaw
The next area of study came about after
the crashes that occurred in practice at Figure 9: Pressure field with beam wing flip deployed and car travelling at 180-degrees yaw
the 2015 Indy 500. Within a few days of
each other, three cars lost control, turned 180-degrees yaw, since the air direction is When deployed, the flap induced a
through 180 degrees yaw, hit the wall opposite to the car’s normal angle of attack. high-pressure zone on the beam wing,
and then flipped over in the air. Figure 8 Consequently, for the following year, helping reduce the lift coefficient and
shows a frame from Castroneves’ crash. a flap was introduced on the beam wing, the flipping moment. Figure 9 shows
After losing control in corner exit, the right between the bumpers and behind the the pressure field with the flap deployed,
cars span and hit the wall. After impact, they rear diffuser. This aero device was designed when the car is travelling backwards.
proceeded parallel to the wall, but moving to open automatically with aerodynamics The inventors and designers of this
backwards. This condition is referred to as force once the car started to spin. device were subsequently awarded with

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INDYCAR – STABILITY IN A SPIN

the Louis Schwitzer Award in the same

year: Tino Belli for IndyCar, Arron Melvin for
Chevrolet and Alex Timmermans for Dallara.
Once more, the track was the only true
judge. The following years showed the flip-
flaps deployed correctly in practice, and no
other 180-degree yaw flips were observed
when cars were proceeding backwards.
In 2018, the Universal Aerokit for the
back of the car was heavily re-designed,
removing the rear bumpers and the beam
wing. But remembering the precious lesson
learned in 2016, the concept of the flip-flaps
was carried over, though re-designed as a
similar device located at the trailing edge
of the floor, behind the rear suspension.

The leeward flip

In 2019, IndyCar and Dallara had to face another Figure 10: O’Ward’s leeward flip in practice in 2019. Investigations into this accident are still ongoing
serious challenge to the stability of the car.
Suddenly, during Indy 500 practice, some Figure 11 shows how, in order to best
cars lost control, hitting the barrier and starting represent the real condition, the track
to flip over their leeward axis. Figure 10 shows barrier was included in the model,
a frame from O’Ward’s crash. and the front wing and left-hand side
The reason why these crashes happened suspension failures were reproduced.
in 2019 rather than in 2018 is not yet clear. The first CFD simulation showed the
Only minor aerodynamic changes were suction on the top convex surfaces of the
introduced on the front wing, and the other sidepod and the tyre ramp played a significant
chassis components remained unchanged. role in the overall lift coefficient. The suction
More robust tyres at the front were the only effect on those surfaces was as critical as the
major change. That could have modified compression generated under the floor.
the dynamics of the car during the spin During this study many different solutions
section of the crash, leading the vehicle to were taken into account. Due to the very
hit the barriers in a position that favoured restrictive timeframe, only small and simple
the aerodynamic-driven flip of the car. parts could be designed, produced and Figure 11: Simulation setting of the car in a leeward flip scenario
In any case, the designers had to react fitted to over 30 cars before the following
quickly in order to reduce the possibility of event. An effective solution was to reduce From an aero perspective, this means
seeing similar flips in the upcoming Indy 500 the suction on the upper side through the when a new car makes its debut, or a simple
qualifications a week later. Detailed analysis introduction of vertical fins. Figure 12 shows modification to a current car is implemented,
of the videos showed the start of the flip how these small parts could significantly alter the potential effect on crash dynamics must
was mechanical – the impact with the wall the pressure field on the upper bodywork, be considered. Any time a new component
brought the car into a sideways slide with when installed in the right places. can alter the car’s stability, the new critical
the windward side raised due to suspension Moreover, the fins had practically zero velocities are computed from CFD simulation,
failure on the opposite side. This channelled effect on performance in the standard and countermeasures taken if necessary.
the flow under the floor and lifted the condition, making them an ideal solution. At the same time, it is impossible to
car. After this, the rest of the dynamics of predict the sheer variety of situations
the crash were driven by aerodynamics. Never-ending story that could potentially happen during a
The result was the car lifted into the air Safety is never a closed chapter in motorsport. racing event, so the reality is continuously
and flipped over its centreline axis. As the recent and successful introduction of suggesting new testing conditions to be
A dedicated CFD study of the car in this the Aeroscreen has displayed, race organisers studied and improved. Dallara and IndyCar
new flipped condition was set up to and chassis constructors are always trying are always working to keep pace with these
understand the causes of the phenomenon to make racecars safer, and to minimise the challenges and to make the fastest race
and to investigate possible solutions. danger for all those involved in the events. in the world the safest one as well.

Figure 12: Effect of stability wickers on the leeward flip scenario. With no reduction in performance, these simple additions were deemed a resounding success

36 www.racecar-engineering.com MAY 2021