Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Science, and Innovation
Vol 6, No 1 (2026): (April)(On Progress)

CFD-Validated Kriging Surrogate for Multi Objective Aerodynamic Optimization of a Go-Kart Drag–Lift Pareto Front under Pitching Moment Constraint

Kafi, Ahmad Al (Unknown)
Fikri, Ahmad Atif (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
22 Apr 2026

Abstract

Go-kart aerodynamics involves a trade-off between drag reduction, lift control, and longitudinal stability, yet most previous studies do not explicitly constrain pitching moment during design optimization. This study proposes a CFD-validated Gaussian Process Regression (Kriging) surrogate for multi objective aerodynamic optimization of go-kart bodywork using ground clearance, nose angle, and operating speed as design variables. A 25-point maximin Latin hypercube design was evaluated using steady RANS CFD, and the surrogate was used to construct a drag-lift Pareto front under an uncertainty-aware pitching moment constraint at 65 km/h. The recommended knee point design (h = 40 mm, α = 24.79°) achieved Cd = 0.771, Cl = 0.157, and Cm.pitch = 0.171. Compared with the baseline, it reduced lift and pitching moment by about 35% each, with a 4.6% drag penalty. Additional CFD checks at 42 and 89 km/h confirmed that the selected design remained feasible and stable across the operating range. These results demonstrate that surrogate-assisted, stability-constrained optimization can identify practically viable go-kart configurations that improve aerodynamic stability without a large drag penalty, providing a useful framework for bodywork tuning within the studied design range.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jmesi

Publisher

Subject

Control & Systems Engineering Energy Engineering Mechanical Engineering

Description

Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Science, and Innovation (JMESI) is a peer-reviewed journal in English published two issues per year (in April and October). JMESI dedicated to publishing quality and innovative research in the field of mechanical engineering and science, thereby promoting ...