Television coverage of this years Formula One races has captured some textbook examples of a KERS equipped driver out accelerating a conventionally powered car on the straight. And yet, as mid-season approaches no KERS equipped car has won a Formula One race, or set pole position, and only two teams are still running with it, the rest having either rejected its use or never planned to run it in the first place
Archive for July, 2009
The KERS of power
Sunday, July 12th, 2009Cylinder Heads / Blocks
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
The process of engineering design is very much a compromise and sometimes, even with modern computerised techniques, several iterations may be required before the final, optimised product evolves. The design of a modern cylinder head can be a perfect example of this. Although four valves per cylinder with a central spark plug is ubiquitous in gasoline engines, as the included angle of the intake and exhaust valves becomes smaller, the architecture of the valve train and space for the fasteners to assemble it all becomes much more critical. This is especially the case when direct acting mechanical buckets (DAMB) are used.
Back to Basics - Part 2
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
In the previous article, we looked at the relationship between tightening torque and axial force developed, and a formula was given which included the effects of those parameters which, as engine designers, you are most likely to want to change. In this article, we shall look at the effects of cyclic loading – it is necessary to understand this in order to determine the proper pre-load. This process of doing fatigue calculations and checking that the pre-load is sufficient is an iterative process, and may involve changing materials, fastener geometry
Exhaust Materials
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
There are a wide range of materials from which racing exhausts are made today and the choice depends largely on budget, although some of the very expensive materials available aren’t used because they either aren’t mature enough or engineers haven’t yet figured out how to use them.
Whilst there are a lot of exhaust systems still being made in steel, it isn’t as widely favoured as it once was for a number of reasons. The obvious one is that it corrodes very easily. Welding steel to stainless is a good way
Electronics v Chemistry
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
Do we need electronic engine management systems? Really need them?
Because controlling fuelling, ignition, even valve timing, duration and lift achievable through electronic control units doesn’t necessarily mean that is the best or even the right solution. That is a deliberately controversial statement but it is worth considering what lies behind it and what the alternatives and options are.
Dyno-testing engines
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
In general terms, a dynamometer is simply a device that can be used to measure Force or Power.
Power and Force are related physically. Power is defined as the rate at which we do ‘work’, whilst ‘work’, in a linear sense is the result of moving a Force through a given distance, such as lifting a weight. So, Work = Force x Distance. Since Power is defined as the Work Done per Unit Time, we can also write Power = Force x Velocity, as Velocity is the distance moved in Unit time. < /p >
Profiles critical to performance: Part 2
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
Following on from my recent article on valve-head profiles, we will look a little further into the valve-head profile, and how this is applied to the modern Formula One engine. As speeds rose above 20,000 rpm in Formula One, this was an area of intense development, but the pressure has been slightly removed owing to the decrease in speeds as imposed by the yearly rev-cut regulation. Into the third year after the 20,000 rpm race engines of 2006, we now have a mandated 18,000 rpm engine speed limit.
Heat-Treatment of Crankshafts
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
The article last month covered the subject of materials used for Formula One crankshafts. This feature looks at the subject of heat treatments currently used in Formula One.
As we saw last month, the materials in current Formula One use are mainly nitriding steels. By nitriding steels, we mean those with a composition containing elements which are strong nitride-formers, chief among these being chromium, aluminium, molybdenum and vanadium.
Joint Face Design
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
Last month we looked at some of the aspects concerning the design of the big end and this month we pick up with further aspects of this critical area, namely those concerned with the joint faces. The big end joint is an important area of rod design, as it affects the durability of the rod bolts. If there is a problem with this joint, it will surely lead to a catastrophic engine failure – it would be a real surprise to find a loose rod bolt with no significant damage found elsewhere.
Coat of many colours
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
One of the more interesting uses of coatings is to apply solid lubricants as a substitute for liquid lubricants. The solid lubricant that is used is normally a complex mixture that can include silver, molybdenum and various binding compounds.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s US defence budgets encouraged the development of a range of coatings of all sorts and the solid lubricant found a use for example in a NASA project for a fully recirculating, non-air breathing engine.
