Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
Hi,
If the front edge of the nose is low pressure, I'll eat my hat. I think that drawing is bogus.
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Neil,I know it seems crazy,but you can find these studies going back decades.Dr.Timothy Maxwell of the Texas Tech Aero Lab once explained to me that with the 1st-gen Ford Taurus,that the hole in the front of the car where Ford placed their oval emblem,actually had air coming "out" of it!.Remember,as you displace forward,the air is accelerated from rest,to it's maximum velocity as it rounds the leading edges of the car.The "airspeed" at the leading edge of the hood could be as high as 50% greater than your road speed.Same for over the roof.----------------------
From conservation of mass,and energy,the only way the air can gain velocity, is if it trades off pressure at the same time.------------
It's how a perfume sprayer or carburetor works.Daniel Bernoulli researched all this and published long ago and its in all fluid mechanics text.On race cars,the radiator exit duct may be positioned on the forward radius to both reduce lift,as well as dump air to this low pressure area.Also,this is a race car,and by moving the fully-ducted lightweight cooling system forward,heavier components can be compacted and nested close together,closer to the CG of the car,for lower polar moment.