Análise Numérica e Experimental da Aerodinâmica de uma Motocicleta de Competição em Escala Reduzida Utilizando OpenFOAM e um Túnel de Vento /

Abstract

This work presents a numerical and experimental analysis of the aerodynamics of a scaleddown competition motorcycle prototype. The numerical investigation was conducted using the open-source software OpenFOAM with the SST k–ω turbulence model. In parallel, a low-cost wind tunnel was designed and instrumented for experimental validation, featuring an acrylic test section, a 1800 W suction blower, and a data acquisition system based on an Arduino Uno with a load cell and HX711 module for direct drag force measurement. A mesh independence study was carried out, comparing three refinement levels based on the aerodynamic drag coefficient (CD) number of elements, and computational time. The numerical results for the drag coefficient CD = 0.59169 and drag force FD = 2.04 gf were compared with experimental data CD = 0.62014 and FD = 2.14 ± 0.20 gf, showing differences of 4.67% for the drag force and 4.59% for the drag coefficient. This close agreement validates the adopted numerical methodology and demonstrates the feasibility of the low-cost experimental apparatus. The study confirms that the combination of computational simulation and accessible experimental validation is a powerful and replicable tool for aerodynamic development in academic environments and for competition teams with limited resources, such as those in MotoStudent.