There has been a flurry of activity recently in motor racing associated with the use of electric power, either in the form of a hybrid system or as ‘pure electric’ motorsport. Motorcycle racing has been in the forefront of this movement. For those wanting to develop electric or hybrid vehicle technology, motorcycles offer a cheap route to doing so; they also encourage well-packaged, low-mass engineering solutions to any problems. Read more…
Archive for September, 2011
Electric motors
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011Residual stress?
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
For ‘normal people’ stress is something to be avoided; not so however for engine developers. It is something we have learned to live with, and even use to our advantage. So, what about residual stress then?
Every mechanical engineer has learned during his or her education that one can only load a structure so much, until the maximum permissible stress is reached. This implies that an external load of some kind is being applied Read more…
The endurance oil
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Within the confines of an internal combustion engine, engine crankcase oil is expected to lubricate, cool, seal, maintain a high degree of cleanliness and protect against all forms of engine wear and corrosion. Not only must it do all this, it often also has to keep on doing so for long periods of time. In a sprint race of maybe a couple of hours’ duration this may not be too much of a problem, but for the endurance racer, conducting what is becoming more and more of a series of sprint races between pit-stops, the issue takes on an extra Read more…
GT exhausts
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
The new McLaren MP4-12C roadcar is a real looker, and has had some great reviews in the motoring press. It didn’t take long before the car was taken from the road to the track, competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series in Europe. This is a race series specifically for GT cars. Stories in the press suggest that there are up to ten teams considering racing this car in 2012. Read more…
Solder or crimp?
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Life is full of decisions, such as shall I wear the yellow or white shirt today, never thinking, of course, I have only one tie - pink! Or the classic one of betting all your money on red in a game of roulette, and the little ball ends up on the black. Sometimes, however, these decisions are taken away and life can be so much simpler. But deprived of choice, as an engineer I begin to wonder if there is a better way or if the accepted practice was just a convenience brought on by expediency with some other object or motive in mind? Read more…
Active dynos - 2
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
My previous RET-Monitor article on this subject gave a general overview of active dynamometers, and the benefits they can bring to engine development. This month, I want to look at some of the other tasks they can be used for, over and above basic transient testing.
The advantage of an electric active dyno is clearly its ability to motor, allowing it to drive the engine and simulate conditions such as transmission drag, gearbox
Socket head fasteners with flank drive tightening features
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
There is a fondness for using socket-head screws in race engines. They are neat, and one can use a number of them close together, allowing the use of high clamping forces. Taking the example of adjacent 6 mm metric screws, two socket-head types can comfortably be placed 10.5 mm apart, whereas two hexagon-head versions need 11.54 mm, plus tool clearance to allow for a socket or a wrench, between screw centres. Read more…
Formula One crankshafts after 2014
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
The provisional rules for the 2014 Formula One World Championship engines are now available to view on the FIA website. The change from the current 18,000 rpm 2.4 litre V8s to the 2014 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged engines was not straightforward, and came after a considerable period during which the engine suppliers were working towards supplying four-cylinder engines for 2013. Read more…
Bearing bore tag slots
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
In motorsport, the four-stroke engine is dominant in terms of numbers, and the vast majority of them use what we would describe as conventional shell bearings for both crankshaft main bearings and big ends. The most common method used to ensure proper location of these bearings and to prevent rotation is a combination of proper preload and tags (or tangs) which locate in precisely machined slots in the con rod big-end bore. This method is also that used by most production engines. There are alternative location features used in Read more…
Ceramic-coated exhausts
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
The subject of the ‘management’ of heat as concerns race engine exhausts is largely a matter of containment. We have covered the subject briefly before in RET-Monitor articles, and have discussed the advantages of keeping the heat in the exhaust rather than having it radiated to the outside world via the engine bay, which contains lots of electronic components that can object to becoming too hot. Heat radiated to the engine structure and the gearbox can lead to the need for greater cooling capacity; and this has an aerodynamic Read more…
