Materials used in Formula 1

[lumpenst]

Hi guys, this is my first post here. Been reading the site for a while and i love this place... its full of intellectual people and lots of good knowledge.
I'm a student in automotive engineering and im doing a superficial research on materials for automotive bodies. Are there any books, articles, etc. you could recommend that contains info on materials used in formula 1 cars mostly the chassis and the body

[Carlos]

As I am sure you prefer the scholastic merit of personal research - spend a few hours mining the forums index - many books have been recommended - do not neglect your school and public library or a survey of book sellers sites and of course search engine possibilities. If you do not mind the intrusion - as I am sure you prefer a DIY pursuit - use the search term "composite materials" - The satisfaction and knowledge attained through personal effort is worth every hour spent in such scholarship.


Regards Carlos

[lumpenst]

i've been doing exactly what you said, im not being lazy about this i'm just curious if there is any specific book thats focused mainly in materials of f1 cars thats worthy to have a copy in my library. i'm not expecting it to solve everything for me just want something that would give me an idea of what i should be focusing on.. thanks for the advice

[Carlos]

That was a very poor welcome to the forum. I have lacked hospitality - If you read aerodynamics analysis of rear wing (3Dmodel) of an f1 car - perhaps you will accept the excuse that the forum is often used for student paper research . May I offer:

http://www.f1technical.net/articles/3

EDIT also Google "NASA SP-8108" - scroll down the list of articles listed until you reach 8108 - original research on advanced composites - a valuable, free primer .

[miqi23]

Welcome to the forum lumpenst! Thought I could help you with this search of yours and perhaps suggest another approach which would benefit you in the long term.

As you would appreciate the glamour of F1 and the technology involved in it now days, every one gets excited and wants to know more about it. As your question is related to Chassis and Materials used, I would suggest you grab a book that covers the whole thing rather than F1 stuff... the reason I am saying this is that F1 guys are all engineers and they have to make choices about what materials to use for their car. That would require an indepth knowledge of Material science and how they behave under different conditoins. Conditions like Fatigue, etc are quite famous amongst these people and it all comes from books...

Anyhow, Carbon fibre is mostly used as pointed by Carlos and the article he pointed out was good enough for you, however you should look for more about how other materials work etc.

The Science and Engineering of Materials is a very good book I have in my collection by Askeland. Get it and I am sure you will like it.

I hope this helps and please forgive me if it was not helpful at all.

[lumpenst]

no problem carlos i've been an active member of the forum homemadeturbo.com for some long time, so i know when to put my flaming suit on its been really difficult to get good info on that site... i still share your feelings about most newbies that use the forum for student paper research, its difficult to trust the newcomers when most just abuse the good intensions

[lumpenst]

thanks for the fast replies guys...
Materials for Automobile Bodies by Geoff Davies:
i have this book already as it was the reference book of the course itself. it has some valuable info on my subject but its not helping me enough on formula 1 tech. i bought several books on f1 tech this week which were recommended in the forum in many threads but im not sure if they have what im looking for... i'll see in about 2-3 weeks some old posts contain some good stuff that could help me though so im planning to start off with searching these and find a way to sum the info up to my cause later

Carbon Fibre and Aramid (Kevlar) - used in the monocoque, bodywork, air box, steering wheel (and not wood like once a frined of mine said) and in the suspension wishbones (but reinforced with Titanium or Steel in the smaller teams).

- Aluminum Honeycomb - is used in the monocoque and in almost every part of the bodywork (i didn't know this untill a few weeks ago!) - it's put in the middle of the carbon/aramid fibre.

- magnesium - wheels and some small parts of the engine

- gold foil - used in the back of the monocoque to prevent heat transfer from the engine to the fuel tank.

[FW 21]

thanks for the fast replies guys...
Materials for Automobile Bodies by Geoff Davies:
i have this book already as it was the reference book of the course itself. it has some valuable info on my subject but its not helping me enough on formula 1 tech. i bought several books on f1 tech this week which were recommended in the forum in many threads but im not sure if they have what im looking for... i'll see in about 2-3 weeks some old posts contain some good stuff that could help me though so im planning to start off with searching these and find a way to sum the info up to my cause later

Carbon Fibre and Aramid (Kevlar) - used in the monocoque, bodywork, air box, steering wheel (and not wood like once a frined of mine said) and in the suspension wishbones (but reinforced with Titanium or Steel in the smaller teams).

- Aluminum Honeycomb - is used in the monocoque and in almost every part of the bodywork (i didn't know this untill a few weeks ago!) - it's put in the middle of the carbon/aramid fibre.

- magnesium - wheels and some small parts of the engine

- gold foil - used in the back of the monocoque to prevent heat transfer from the engine to the fuel tank.

For your information, I have never seen Kevlar in an F1 chassis for the last 7 years, It may be there in some but its now an out dated practice.

You will find it for sure in the IRL Le Mans cars and maybe Champ cars still.

As for finding aluminium honeycomb in almost every body part, this is also not completely true, Nomex honeycomb is widely used in engine covers, barge boards and floors.

Don't forget the use of Rohacell foams also.

[rizo]

hi!! there's a really interesting forum on chasis building for f1 and materials used on it:
http://www.f1technical.net/articles/3?dispid=85

lots of information about CF and aluminum use... definitely not kevlar for many years in f1

good luck!!

[jddh1]

I bought "Competition Car Composites" a while back. I like it a lot. It is quite technical but covers the subject very well. It's written by Simon McBeath. I don't know what the senior guys in this site think about it, or whether they're read it or not, but I suggest you grab a copy and have it a go. Good luck! Wink

[lumpenst]

I bought "Competition Car Composites" a while back. I like it a lot. It is quite technical but covers the subject very well. It's written by Simon McBeath. I don't know what the senior guys in this site think about it, or whether they're read it or not, but I suggest you grab a copy and have it a go. Good luck! Wink

I ordered a bunch of books for my project including the one you suggest. Thanks for the input of anyone posted on this thread. Thinking anyone may need the same info i need in the future im posting the books that looks to me like will be much of a help for my research paper.
Competition Car Composites by Simon McBeath
Engineer to Win - Understanding Race Car Dynamics by Carroll Smith
Race and Rally Car Source Book by Allan Staniforth
There are other books i have ordered but they came out to be full of pics instead of helpful material. Still they help to some extent but the 3 i listed above should be more than enough. Also the reference book of the course i mentioned in a previous post above has some good info too. Hope this will help anyone interested in the subject.