Quote:
Originally Posted by j-c-c
Almost any form vs perfectively flat will increase the items rigidity. That extra rigidity will reduce any likelihood of flutter which aero wise will be a negative. Or the items thickness/weight could also be the solution to head off flutter. I think a rotating unsprung wheel at speed on a typical road surface would-be a favorable 'situation to help initiate possible flutter in these situations.
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Walter Korff, Chief Aerodynamicist for Lockheed Aircraft Co., and designer of the Summer's Brother's 550-mph, GOLDENROD, was a proponent of 'convexity' in the wheel disc.
It IS a cheap way to prevent aeroelasticity and 'flutter.'
Bernd Rosemeyer was believed, by Alex Tremulis, to have died on account of the 'oil-canning' of his Auto-Union's body panels at race speed. The race car's body was built to a 'below-spec' wall thickness, and caved-in during competition, creating an asymmetric loading in yaw, which could not be compensated for at the steering wheel. A victim of 'max-Q'.