Materials in F1

[Monstrobolaxa]

Besides uranium.....the I don't know the name of it in english...in portugues it's "turgesténio".....it the same material that is used to make the filament in a light bulb. It is also a very high denisty material and is used as ballast.

[akbar21881]

Monstro,I think that word translated into english would be tungsten.

[seymour]

I'd like to see a team use Iridium for their movable ballast. Osmium, considered the densest element, is a few hundrendths of a gram per cubic centimeter more dense, but it costs nearly 3 times as much. Still, at $130 per oz., Iridium's not cheap. Which is why I think a team would only be able to use it for their moveable ballast.

That means a team could have 50lbs of iridium ballast for about $100,000. I don't know, with Ferrari's budget, maybe they already do.

[Reca]

Dont forget good old steel ... Luca Marmorini told me they use one steel that dates back to the second world war.!

Marmorini was probably referring to the material used for the crankshaft. Modulus of elasticity (slope of the deformation vs load curve) is what really matters, because, although resistance is very important, deformation is the real problem. Steel is the best possible choice in term of modulus of elasticity and since the more recent steels, though offering an increased resistance, have also a module of elasticity a bit lower that the classic ones, a classic alloy is better in that case.

[Steven]

If the F1 have so much money why dont they make more parts from kevlar, its strong and light but im not sure if it bends to keep strength, mind you it does have strong H-bonds

anyone who knows where kevlar is used, and why it's not very popular in F1?

[Monstrobolaxa]

Well Kevlar (also known as Aramid) is used in F1.....Williams uses it in its monocoque.....Kevlar has an advantage and a disadvantage when compared to carbon, that is why teams tend to mix both to get both of the advantages to work in your favour. I don't know the advantages or disadvantages.......but.....I read it in the Competition Car Composites (Haynes Publishing).....but the book wasn't mine....so if someone knows the answer.....

[Guest]

But Beryllium is radioactive....if I'm not mistaken......

Don't forget Magnesium, gold foil (high heat reflectant).....

If it is radioactive, there's still nothing wrong w a Black and Silver and sometimes Green McLaren.

Beryllium (9Be) is not radioactive as opposed to the other isotopes. The problem with that material is that, in a fire, it will convert into beryllium oxide - which is VERY toxic. In case of an engine with beryllium blows up in a race, many many spectators could get very sick.

http://www.speclab.com/elements/beryllium.htm

beryllium is radioactive. there are 12 different forms of baryllium. the form used by F1 teams did emit x-rays.

[oz_ferrari]

Well Kevlar (also known as Aramid) is used in F1.....Williams uses it in its monocoque.....Kevlar has an advantage and a disadvantage when compared to carbon, that is why teams tend to mix both to get both of the advantages to work in your favour. I don't know the advantages or disadvantages.......but.....I read it in the Competition Car Composites (Haynes Publishing).....but the book wasn't mine....so if someone knows the answer.....

Yes aramid fibres are used in F1, due to their toughness, whereas carbon is primarily used for the high stiffness. Try cutting a piece of uncured carbon and aramid. The carbon cuts easily with a blade or a pair of scissors, aramid is very difficult to cut and will destroy the cutting edges of the blade or scissors very quickly. The haynes book is a great introduction to avdanced composites.
Rally cars also use aramid fibres as protective structures such as sump guards, they are good in impact situations,whereas carbon reaches its ultimate strength and then breaks catastrophically. Carbon is brittle, aramid actually yields similar to metals.
I hope that helps

[West]

Well Kevlar (also known as Aramid) is used in F1.....Williams uses it in its monocoque.....Kevlar has an advantage and a disadvantage when compared to carbon, that is why teams tend to mix both to get both of the advantages to work in your favour. I don't know the advantages or disadvantages.......but.....I read it in the Competition Car Composites (Haynes Publishing).....but the book wasn't mine....so if someone knows the answer.....

Yes aramid fibres are used in F1, due to their toughness, whereas carbon is primarily used for the high stiffness. Try cutting a piece of uncured carbon and aramid. The carbon cuts easily with a blade or a pair of scissors, aramid is very difficult to cut and will destroy the cutting edges of the blade or scissors very quickly. The haynes book is a great introduction to avdanced composites.
Rally cars also use aramid fibres as protective structures such as sump guards, they are good in impact situations,whereas carbon reaches its ultimate strength and then breaks catastrophically. Carbon is brittle, aramid actually yields similar to metals.
I hope that helps

Carbon shatters once it reaches it's breaking point (I forgot all the terms). So w/ aramid (kevlar), it will "stretch" that breaking point a little further?

Also, what happens if u apply the same stresses on carbon and then aramid seperately?

[marcush.]

Dyneema is another fibre that is used as these polyethylene fibres are
really tough ,even tougher than aramid but with temperature restrictions to about135°C ,but you can operate quite closely to that temperature without problems.

As for the diamond hard surface finishes ,I´d bet these are in use for quite a while ,as I personally didd an engine with ceramic cam followers
in 1999 ....and it was definitively not F1 ,far from it.
The consequences were mindboggling though...beginning by lowering oil temps about 20°c ,eliminating all signs of pitting on the cam lobes ,whereas before you could not make the same cam last very much longer than one race....and all this without the need to run in the cam ......

Oh don´t forget Ceramic (ball) Roller bearings ,these are used as throwout bearings for very high RPM at the clutch of all F1 engines ,and possibly now in the gearboxes and wheelbearings two...

And what about the Cylinder liner coatings all F1 teams are using to reduce friction.

Formula 1 is all about new materials and how to manufacture the parts,as the basic ideas are all there ....

Anyone into Tyres? I would bet Michelin Tyres are far from Rubber mixed with ash and moulded around steel and cotton wires......but that is ,well
you`d call it black art...