Whenever we hear about Formula One KERS systems, or the much-vaunted hybrid systems as used at Le Mans and in a growing number of roadcars, many of us imagine a large alternator being used to change mechanical energy into electrical energy (or vice versa) and a battery for converting the electrical energy into chemical energy and provide short-term storage. There is a third, very important, module that is part of a typical racing KERS system, and this is the power electronics. The aim here...
To those who travel regularly on a mass transit rail network like the London Underground or New York Subway, the term 'crush' will have its own and possibly unpleasant associations. Packed tightly into a carriage just as one more person squeezes in before the doors close, the experience (particularly at peak travelling times) is not quickly forgotten. But when applied to the technology of shell bearings, 'crush' is not just nice to have, it is absolutely essential. When...
In these days of soaring fuel prices the top priority for any engine manufacturer is the responsible use of scarce resources. Specific fuel consumption or the amount of fuel used per unit power output per hour is the measure of the task, and a major enemy of this is friction. But when it comes to low-friction engines the experts in this field are not, as you might expect, from the race engine industry No, the real experts in this area, in my opinion, are the OE engine manufacturers, whose...
If you attend a motorsport trade show and look at the pistons on offer, you will see that a number of them have a coating (or sometimes more than one coating). More often than not, where a single coating is applied to a piston, it will be a skirt coating. Piston skirt coatings are very commonly used, and the practice is not just a recent phenomenon. There are a number of reasons for the use of a coating on a piston skirt. The conclusion many people will jump to is that they are primarily...
Bespoke race engines are festooned with purpose-designed fasteners, each of which carries out a specific task. We need specially designed fasteners for many reasons; every engineer has his preferences, so all engines are different and fastener designs reflect this. In general, bespoke fasteners are designed to higher standards than commercial parts. In minimising stress concentration and selecting high-quality materials, we seek to make parts that will prove more durable than a...