Innehållsförteckning för October 2019 från Racecar Engineering

A wise engineer once told me that 90 per cent of the work you do in the office is simply to make your life at the track easier This is my first year working as a performance engineer for Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR), and I’ve already come to appreciate that, while races will always be the showcase events, the work that goes on behind the scenes is equally impressive. A team’s preparation for an IndyCar race weekend is an amazing feat of engineering in and of itself. Not only that, but it is massively influential on how competitive a team is on a given race weekend. A closer look at the extensive resources committed by each team to prepare for an IndyCar race reveals just how competitive the series has…

‘The GT3 is a pure racing machine, but the GT2 is somewhere between a racing car and a collector’s piece’ Something needs to be done about the nomenclature for GT racing. While series organiser Stephane Ratel says that now his house is completely built, with customer racing the foundation and manufacturer-supported customer racing as a penthouse suite, where each of the categories sits is rather confusing. And the introduction of GT2, a class that will allow amateur race drivers to compete against bone fide GT3 cars, and which features more power and less aero, has muddied the waters even further. Ratel launched the GT1 class in the 1990s, and later added N-GT in 2001. N-GT quickly morphed into GT2, and raced alongside GT1 as the secondary class, which worked well…

The 2019 FSUK winner, MoRe Modena Racing (MMR), took the competition by storm, with a 119-point advantage over its closest rival, Oxford Brookes. MMR is based at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and its Formula Student journey began back in 2003, when it was run out of a small workshop at a car showroom. Today, the team fields three cars out of a dedicated university workshop and comprises approximately 80 mechanical, mechatronics, electrical and management students. The 2019 FSUK winning car, the M-19L featured a carbon fibre monocoque for the fifth year running, a longitudinally mounted gearbox and a full aero package. ‘The main focus for 2019 was to optimise concepts and solutions from the 2018 car,’ says Gianmarco Carbonieri, team leader at MMR. ‘There were some components…

This Li-ion building block was developed specifically for Formula Student competition with simplicity and safety in mind. Using 18650 lithium-ion technology, these offer the most modern and energy-dense solution in an easy to use package. The 18650 is a very well established and time-tested battery cell standard, especially common in consumer devices. These cells are designed to withstand normal consumer use, while offering the best in class energy density. Various options of 18650 cell are available: SAMSUNG 25R, SONY VTC6, LG HE4 and almost any other genuine cell. EXCEPTIONAL SAFETY In addition to internal protection techniques, the module includes two fuses for each cell, and there are16 for a complete 8-cell module. These act as a second level protection devices in case of cell failure and in case the internal…

‘At some tracks the teams want to retain heat in the disc for longer’ The Haas VF-19 features a braking system from Italian specialist Brembo. It is unsurprisingly extremely similar to the version used on the Ferrari SF90. The aerodynamic rule changes introduced into Formula 1 at the start of the 2019 season have had a noteworthy impact on the design of the brake discs and pads used by the teams, as the reduction in downforce and simplified wings have seen top speeds rise, but apex speeds fall. ‘This meant we had to make a big step from 2018 as a result of the new rules, as obviously the brakes have to do a lot more work,’ Giovanni Clemente, Brembo Racing’s Formula 1 race engineer and telemetry data analyst explains.…

‘It is always good to keep developing and as development is allowed for non-hybrid cars then we had to anticipate that they would be quicker’ The eighth season of the FIA WEC will be the last allowing the current breed of hybrid prototypes before new hypercar regulations arrive in 2020. It will bring to a close a golden era of endurance racing in which gasoline and diesel raced against each other with parity, while turbo and normally aspirated engines were also welcomed. But perhaps most significantly, a host of different hybrid solutions were tested, including battery, flywheel and super capacitors, while a range of energy recovery systems were also trialled in competition, including kinetic and heat recovery systems. Toyota raced Audi, Porsche and Nissan during this era and, ultimately, all…

Last issue (September, V29N9) I said gasoline weighs about seven pounds per gallon. A number of readers have pointed out that it’s actually closer to six, at least assuming we’re using US gallons and considering pump gas. Seven pounds per US gallon is a whole number approximation that people often are taught to remember even though it’s a little on the high side, because using seven rather than six will keep you from underestimating fuel weight if you’re doing mental arithmetic. One accepted international standard is 6.073 pounds per US gallon.That’s the lowest figure I’ve encountered so far: www.aquacalc.com says 6.25 pounds. One reader said he uses 6.3. The actual density varies considerably depending on the blend, the temperature, and the pressure. Racing gasoline generally contains a lot of aromatic compounds,…

With concepts ranging from single-cylinder combustion cars to 4WD electric drivetrains, this year’s Formula Student UK (FSUK) and Formula Student Germany (FSG) events were once again great adverts for the ability and ingenuity of student engineers, and there was very much of interest on show at both Silverstone and Hockenheim. Starting with the suspension, in general the overall design approach to this across the paddock has more or less converged to a common format. Springs and dampers are positioned inboard of the wheels and the chassis is actuated via pushrod and bell-crank assemblies. This year’s UCL car, however, featured an innovative and novel approach to suspension design in the form of flexures. In the context of control arms, flexures are an alternative mounting technology to the traditional spherical bearing configuration.…

‘We keep fixing things, changing bits, adding stuff, and it keeps getting worse’ From the very moment it rolled out for the first time Rob Taylor, the chief designer at the Haas F1 Team, had an issue with this year’s VF-19. It had been launched in a predominantly black livery, in deference to a new title sponsor, replacing the grey and white Haas CNC inspired colour schemes of previous years, and, as Taylor explains: ‘The black colour makes it hard for the guys back at the factory, because it accentuates all of the imperfections. It’s a remarkable difference from the paint last year, which was grey and sombre, but that also sort of camouflaged the surface. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with it, but the whole car…

‘We are in motor racing for two reasons: firstly marketing and secondly technical development’ It was all going to change in 2021. Alongside the massive aerodynamic and chassis rule changes Formula 1 was meant to be introducing a completely new power unit; but that will not now happen. There remains some speculation that a higher rev limit and a more potent MGU-K will be utilised, but for the next five seasons the power unit will remain largely as it is right now. Yet the revolution has not been cancelled, merely delayed. Early in 2019 F1’s chief technical officer, Pat Symonds, revealed that completely new power units would be introduced in 2025. Right now the discussions are starting on this, but there are some varied opinions in the paddock about what…

‘We can go out and do a quick lap, maybe faster than the Toyotas, but putting that into an entire race is a big challenge for us’ The 2019/20 WEC sees a return of one of the most eagerly anticipated challengers to Toyota in the shape of the Ginetta G60-LT-P1. Ginetta’s full programme has yet to be revealed as Racecar went to press, but the team behind the development of the car is optimistic that it can show strongly in what is the final season for P1 before new regulations come in in 2020. There is a likelihood that this generation of car will be grandfathered, but that depends on the number of manufacturers that will build hypercars. For now, Ginetta is concentrating on showing well this season. The team…

Electric racecars competed at FSUK way back in 2007 – four years before Formula E was even conceived Formula Student may be an engineering competition for universities, but the innovations showcased by these racecars are often a step ahead of the motorsport industry. For example, autonomous cars are now fully integrated into the competition and the first electric racecars competed at FSUK way back in 2007 – four years before Formula E was even conceived. In fact, in 2016 the electric FS car from AMZ racing set a world record for the fastest-accelerating electric vehicle, achieving 0-100km/h in just 1.513s, which still stands today. In comparison the new generation of Formula E cars accelerate from 0-100km/h in 2.8s. Although this is not an entirely fair comparison as Formula E and…

Better racing, more spectacular cars and lower costs are all part of a ‘new’ Formula 1 being introduced in 2021. Under the ownership of Liberty Media the sport has set about a fundamental re-evaluation of its present and its future, with the aim of creating a completely new set of regulations. Previously, a number of details as to the form these new rules will take have emerged, such as the outline aero concept, the move to larger single spec wheel rims and the introduction of low profile tyres. Some further details were then revealed during a briefing at the British Grand Prix, hosted by Ross Brawn, F1’s managing director of motorsports and technical director, and Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single seater technical matters. At this meeting Brawn stated:…