Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis to determine Downforce of Motorcycle Winglet

Abstract

Competitive motorcycling is all about being fast. However, frontal lift (i.e. ‘wheelie’) has high
tendency to occur at high speed of travelling. Frontal lift is when the front wheel is no longer
in contact with the ground, thus, results in the loss of traction, stability and control over the
motorcycle. These undesired effects could be minimized by increasing the downforce (antilift) at the frontal section of the motorcycle. This could be achieved by incorporating a winglet
which eliminates the necessity for the integration of electronic intervention. The objective of
this study was to determine the downforce generated by a newly developed motorcycle winglet
via Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis. The CAD model for the winglet was
developed via Inventor software and CFD was performed via ANSYS workbench. The analysis
was performed on five (5) planes of the winglet. The result however showed a number of
inconsistent readings of dynamic pressure gradient and drag pressure for all five (5) planes. It
was found that the maximum drag pressure of 194.9 Pa was found on the pressure contour for
plane Number 3. This is of course a direct contradiction to the goal of the incorporation of the
winglet onto the motorcycle. Conclusively, due to lower dynamic pressure at the top layer of
the winglet, the downforce generated is not significant to counter the frontal lift. Hence, the
design characteristic of this newly developed winglet is not desired. For future study, the design
used in this study could be used as the benchmark for improvement.