It is a rather strange but ironic fact of life that once a racing engine gets over a certain age then the biggest causes of failure are not likely to be those associated with excessive loads or the breakdown of lubrication, but simply that of corrosion. In the prime of its often very short racing life, an engine may be cosseted by professionals whose whole existence is centred on the well-being of that unit. It will be stripped, cleaned and examined on a regular basis and then re-assembled...
The interaction between the elastomer seals in an engine and its lubricant is an ongoing battle. Referred to simply as 'compatibility issues' by the specialists, the damage inflicted on the seal by the lubricant can manifest itself in two ways. The first of these is considered to be the direct chemical attack on the elastomer matrix resulting in its loss of performance (as a seal) while the second is the combined effect of this and the dynamic stresses applied. While the latter can...
In the previous RET Monitor article on the subject of exhaust insulation, we looked at plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings for exhaust systems. In preceding articles, we have examined the reasons why thermal insulation of exhaust systems is necessary in certain applications, and advantageous in many others. An alternative to coating the exhaust system are the various types of thermally insulating wrappings, which may be in the form of a metallic 'bag' or 'blanket' or...
In previous articles on the subject of fasteners, we have dwelt very little on the subject of female threads, other than in the article talking of bespoke nuts. The other main situation where we will find female threads is where these have been machined into castings or into machined parts. Unless the rules forbid their use, it is likely that we will have chosen an aluminium block, or where we are designing bespoke parts, aluminium is a very popular material, either in its cast or wrought...
I guess you could say that the first decade of the 21st century, in the world of motor sport at least, were the years of the alternative fuels. Diesel (yes, we're talking motor sports here), bio-ethanol, RME (rape methyl esters) and even CNG (compressed natural gas) have all been used during the decade for one kind of motor racing or another but there was one type of alternative fuel going back to the eighties and which didn't quite make the headlines, for obvious reasons - and that...