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Ducati ramps up use of fluid dynamics for MotoGP challenge

Ducati’s MotoGP team have ramped up their use of fluid dynamics to make aerodynamic strides despite a tightening of the aero rules for this season.

The firm’s aero manager Edoardo Lenoci spoke at length during the team launch in Switzerland, outlining what he hopes to achieve.

“We introduced massive use of CFD, Computational Fluid Dynamics, which means the mathematical simulation of what happens around the bike in terms of aerodynamics,” said Lenoci.

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“In the past we used to develop bikes in the wind tunnel, so we used a full-scale model, made up of actual existing components, spare parts from existing bikes for example.

“By using the CFD, there are a couple of advantages, for example I can tell you on one side the huge amount of data coming out of simulations helps the engineers to understand with deep knowledge what happens on the bike in terms of aerodynamics.

“Because in the wind tunnel you cannot see pressure distribution or streamlines or stress distributions on the surface of the bike. While you have this in CFD. So when you go in the wind tunnel you just do optimisation work, which is as important as developing new concepts.

“On the other side you don’t have to wait for existing parts to be mounted on the bike as a model, so you can start your development earlier than before.”

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