In my previous articles on the difference between leaded and lead-free bearing shells materials, the heat transport from oil through the bearing shell to the crankcase was discussed. In this article the current status of the leaded bearing is described. First though I would like to pass on a remark made to me when talking to a well-known bearing shell supplier. When discussing the possible reasons why leaded bearing materials are still favoured over lead-free materials, I was told,...
In the article on crankshafts which will appear in Race Engine Technology (issue 50, November 2010) there is a brief discussion on the use of heavy metals for crankshaft counterweighting purposes. There are a number of reasons why it might be deemed desirable to use a high-density material for a crankshaft but, for a given level of counterweight moment, it will lead to a lower inertia crankshaft assembly. The advantages of adding a high-density material to a crankshaft - or rather,...
If snippets of information that filter down to me turn out to be true, the average motorsport engine ECU of the future will have to work a lot harder. It's all to do with economy - both in the size of the fuel pump and the amount of power it consumes. While the systems that give these benefits have been fitted on some road vehicles for many years it seems that motorsports, with the emphasis now more on fuel saving than absolute power, is beginning to take notice as well. In a...
In my previous Heads-Blocks article I described the advantage of Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) on one of the most severe cylinder head failure modes, Thermo Mechanical Fatigue (TMF). The main area of interest then concerned differences in material properties. Of course, material is not the only contributor to TMF robustness of cylinder head design, so in this article I will give an insight into another parameter influencing TMF, coolant jacket design. As mentioned previously, a cylinder...
At the time of writing there is much speculation about the new engine regulations in Formula One. Originally scheduled for 2013, the fact that discussions with the various interested parties are still ongoing must surely indicate that some form of accord has yet to be struck. In order to design and develop a new unit, as well as working out the best options in any semblance of order, two years is perhaps pushing things a little, so 2013 seems rather optimistic now. Gone are the days when...