Gold plating reflectivity is greater than 97% at 0.7 microns and greater than 99% at 10.6 microns when measured on a low-scatter substrate. The reflectivity in the infrared equals and often exceeds that of a freshly vapor-deposited gold.
It reflects heat really well, and thus protects the carbon fiber from the burning exhaust.
I'm not sure what it is made of but I've heard Ross Brawn talking about it in '98 when Ferrari were the first to route their exhaust pipes out of the top of the bodywork. It is said to be quite a sophisticated insulation though.
I know the Mclaren F1 engine bay was covered in gold to reflect the heat from the engine
Simon: Nils? You can close in now. Nils?
John McClane: [on the guard's phone] Attention! Attention! Nils is dead! I repeat, Nils is dead, ----head. So's his pal, and those four guys from the East German All-Stars, your boys at the bank? They're gonna be a little late.
Simon: [on the phone] John... in the back of the truck you're driving, there's $13 billon dollars worth in gold bullion. I wonder would a deal be out of the question?
John McClane: [on the phone] Yeah, I got a deal for you. Come out from that rock you're hiding under, and I'll drive this truck up your ass.
reply for ginsu,
As I know, during the carbon fiber production, it needs to suffer 1800 celsius. So what is the working temperature of the carbon fiber? The melting point of gold is not that high. Can the gold coating really help to protect the carbon fiber suspension?
m3_lover,
And, i saw that gold is used for the engine cover of the McLaren F1 sport car. It says gold is a very good "heat-reflector".
Made up magnesium, aluminum and carbon fiber bits to save weight, it even has gold spread out on the engine as a heat resistant material.
he catalysts and mufflers generate immense heat and are shielded from the bodywork by nothing less than gold plated foil!
The heat generated by the large engine and its catalytic exhaust system is a problem, and heat-isolating material is extensively used to protect the cockpit and various ancillaries. The efficiency of the insulating material has been increased by facing it with heat-reflecting material, the most efficient of which is gold. (Yes, gold as in Au.) This is quite extensively used, mainly in the engine compartment, at a cost of approximately $3500!
Simon: Nils? You can close in now. Nils?
John McClane: [on the guard's phone] Attention! Attention! Nils is dead! I repeat, Nils is dead, ----head. So's his pal, and those four guys from the East German All-Stars, your boys at the bank? They're gonna be a little late.
Simon: [on the phone] John... in the back of the truck you're driving, there's $13 billon dollars worth in gold bullion. I wonder would a deal be out of the question?
John McClane: [on the phone] Yeah, I got a deal for you. Come out from that rock you're hiding under, and I'll drive this truck up your ass.
P.Williams wrote:reply for ginsu,
As I know, during the carbon fiber production, it needs to suffer 1800 celsius. So what is the working temperature of the carbon fiber? The melting point of gold is not that high. Can the gold coating really help to protect the carbon fiber suspension?
m3_lover,
And, i saw that gold is used for the engine cover of the McLaren F1 sport car. It says gold is a very good "heat-reflector".
I have often wondered about this. Perhaps we can deduce that once the part is formed and back to normal temperature ready for use; that is when it achieves full strength - so maybe at a temperature somewhere below the melting point of gold it will be weakened?? So, the area where the gold is gets hot, but not hot enough to melt gold?????
P.Williams wrote:reply for ginsu,
As I know, during the carbon fiber production, it needs to suffer 1800 celsius. So what is the working temperature of the carbon fiber?
I'm not sure of any exact temperatures, but even on a standard road car, the heat can be enough for carbon fibre to sag and deform. A saggy, flexible chassis and engine bay isn't particularly favourable in a racing car, so covering it in a heat reflective material is a good idea.
That's right, the carbon fires themselves can withstand quite high temperatures, but the resins often are the bits that fail first, causing what is known as "delamination" whereby a layer (or more) of the carbon fibre peeles off progessively until the part fails.
Silence is golden when you don't know a good answer.
Spencifer_Murphy... you used the word delemation for the carbon fiber. I was wondering if this would be the same case in where a tire delemate's because of excess heat on the tire?
Simon: Nils? You can close in now. Nils?
John McClane: [on the guard's phone] Attention! Attention! Nils is dead! I repeat, Nils is dead, ----head. So's his pal, and those four guys from the East German All-Stars, your boys at the bank? They're gonna be a little late.
Simon: [on the phone] John... in the back of the truck you're driving, there's $13 billon dollars worth in gold bullion. I wonder would a deal be out of the question?
John McClane: [on the phone] Yeah, I got a deal for you. Come out from that rock you're hiding under, and I'll drive this truck up your ass.
The Gold Reflective Film is an aerospace material capable of reflecting 78% of all radiant heat with continuous operating temperatures of 450 degrees centigrade. The material is metalized polyamide polymer laminated glass cloth with a high temperature pressure sensitive adhesive. The film is lightweight at only 5oz per square yard, and is easy to apply and remove. The minimum air gap to heat source is just 1mm
That is a great link scarbs. Amazing to think it only needs 1mm of air gap. I wonder how much it costs (I'd love to put it on the backside of my hood). I have a feeling it's a 'if you have to ask...' situation.
