When discussing bearings it is sometimes easier to limit such studies to those of the crankshaft mains and con rod (both big and little ends). In more modern times the turbocharger bearing is perhaps attracting more interest, so these days we consider those of the camshaft only rarely. Running at half engine speed and not particularly highly loaded, the bearing design is probably dictated mostly by the process of assembling the cam into the engine. Inserted from the front or rear of the...
Isn’t it always the case that when you think you have designed the best cam profile ever – at least in your opinion – somebody always wants it smaller, lighter and/or even cheaper to manufacture? Is it little wonder then that when everybody else is looking at magnesium cylinder blocks, metal composite con rods or ceramic valvetrain parts, the camshaft designer is looking to save, what, a few grammes? The problem with the camshaft is that other than tinker with the profile...
DLC (diamond-like carbon) coatings are basically diamond, as their name suggests, but most of the coatings marketed as DLC are not these crystalline diamond coatings. Many people labour under the impression that DLC is one coating, but it is in fact a wide range of coatings which are based on carbon – hundreds of commercially available coatings are marketed as DLC. There are two types of bonds in carbon coatings, known as sp2 and sp3 bonds. Carbon composed solely of sp2 bonds is what...
Formula One is often said to be the pinnacle of motorsport, which is true in many ways, as the cars are the most optimised and highly developed. So utterly unrelenting is development that nobody who aims to compete at the highest level would dream of using the championship-winning car from the previous year. However, the engines have ‘suffered’ from a development freeze: after the 2006 season they were gradually neutered by having a reduced rev limit and a requirement to be more...
Most engineers these days might consider a vehicle fan as that placed either in front or behind the radiator, pushing or pulling air through it and therefore cooling a heat transfer fluid and indirectly cooling the engine. While this may be ubiquitous now, 50 years or so ago the situation was different, when air-cooled engines devoid of any engine coolant were always a possible option. Of course though, the heat transfer characteristics of air are not as efficient as those of the primary...