CD-adapco Congratulates F1 Teams for "Most Exciting Championship Ever"

New York and London. November 30, 2010

CD-adapco would like to congratulate all of the teams that used STAR-CCM+ and STAR-CD during the 2010 F1 Season and contributed to the most competitive and exciting Championship in recent memory. 75% of all the cars competing in the 2010 F1 Championship were designed using CD-adapco software for either aerodynamic or engine simulation or, in many cases, both.  In particular, CD-adapco’s STAR-CD engine simulation tool was extensively used in the development of the Championship winning Renault RS27 engine.

CD-adapco’s involvement in F1 can be traced back to the early days when CFD first became a viable tool for powertrain and vehicle analysis. As F1 continues to evolve – with extensive rule changes directed at increasing the sustainability of the sport – CD-adapco is ideally placed to help teams meet the engineering challenge that this will entail. Possible changes include engine downsizing, turbocharging, energy recovery systems and a return to ground effects.

Supercharging, in various forms, coupled to engine downsizing has been an auto industry trend for some years and this has thrown up a number of new challenges. Thermal loading on critical components increases and this, in turn, can increase component failures and the propensity to knock. CD-adapco has worked closely with its customers to develop solutions to these problems and is able to deliver comprehensive and accurate engine and turbocharger conjugate heat transfer solutions – and to predict damaging knock events. Often, the worst-case conditions are not steady-state operating points but occur during transient operation. CD-adapco’s extensive experience in transient analysis, from in-cylinder to thermal transients to moving vehicle aerodynamics, can provide solutions to the most difficult problems.

CD-adapco continues to push the accuracy and process time boundaries of traditional aerodynamics calculations. In addition to this, solutions developed in parts of the auto industry can be applied in the F1 arena. For example, overtaking manoeuvres of cars passing trucks.

“Whilst the rules of F1 may be continually changing, race teams can be assured of one thing that will remain constant: CD-adapco’s commitment to our customers’ success,” says Richard Johns, CD-adapco’s Director for the Automotive industry.