For those of you following the ‘Focus’ articles in Race Engine Technology magazine, it is clear that recent changes and improvements in manufacturing technology have improved the products being examined, and this is undoubtedly true for most machined parts, and also for parts produced by casting and forging too. Clearly the CNC revolution has not left the world of fabrication untouched with many operations controlled by computer being more accurate than the average man could ever...
Last month we looked at the problem of how to contain excessive heat given off by hot exhausts. The problems this heat causes affect not only the engine, but also other systems, particularly electronics. In addition to wrapping or coating the exhausts, we looked at the concept of bagging or blanketing. Heat shields were mentioned and in Formula One at least these are commonplace, being lightweight and effective in shielding the engine from radiative heat transfer. The problem with wrapping...
Some of us have the regular chance to see an engine running hard on the dyno, and in many cases it is visually obvious that there is a lot of heat being radiated from the exhausts. There are many video clips and pictures on the internet showing exhaust systems glowing bright red, especially on very high-speed engines such as found in Formula One. Whilst it is clear that there is a great deal of heat being generated, what to do with this excess of energy is not clear. The management of this...
In previous articles on exhausts, we have talked about how these systems are composed of smaller parts, then welded together to form the whole. We further assumed that these smaller component parts would either be small cast pieces, simple bends or perhaps pressed sections. Pressed sections offer the possibility for different shapes and tight bends where required. In this article we shall look at a technology which is relatively new to motor-racing, although it has been used successfully...
In one of the previous articles, the discussion points were on the traditional methods of manufacture, and this month we shall look in more depth at non-circular sections in exhausts. In the article dated June 14, we mentioned pressed mends as a means of being able to produce very tight radii where space constraints require this. Of course, there are other applications of pressed parts in exhausts, especially where the space envelope is tight. As we know, the aero departments have a great...