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While the technical regulations regarding the power units are going into their 4th stable year, Mercedes' engine Chief, Andy Cowell, has noted there are still gains to be made. Cowell underlined that the key to these continued improvements are Mercedes' proven testing facility.
it's a fun thing to speculate. Martin Brundle mentioned 30 radiators in some cars, presumably each of them has a calculation, of joules dissipated with its airflow of velocity X and air density, humidity and temperature and they were pretty much all out of specification in Austria, all the same, otherwise some were over-specified weren't they. Tho there's a question of how much cooling is done in a shared way with the same coolant so if they can reduce one item in the chain it helps the othersroon wrote: ↑07 Jul 2019, 07:36Regarding overheating in Austria: was this a reference to engine water temperature, electrical device water temperature, oil temperature, or charge air temperature? Or some combination of the aformentioned, potentially?
Might also be related to CC temperatures. Lower RPM peak power may be, for example, more efficient but harder upon componentry. Shifting the powerband up could relieve the crankshaft, pistons, conrods, and journals via reduced peak cylinder pressures and temperatures. Shifting it down may increase combustion efficiency and power but may be more reliant upon water and oil cooling of the combustion chamber.
If oil temperatures could not be reduced via the heat exchangers sufficiently, then sufficient control of piston crown temperature might also be lost, forcing the use of engine modes that shift the powerband higher. I'm reminded of the advantages of steel piston crowns in this context.
If not crown temperature related, maybe they were at the edge of their oil's operating temperature i.e. higher power engine modes rely upon oil properties which might be lost above a threshold temperature.
If not ICE related, could be that they were preserving the ES or the electric motors. They were lifting at the end of straights, which might suggest the issue was not on the electrical side of the powertrain.
If it is charge air cooling related, this may be the long tail of engine oil regulations changes. Recall that this is only the second season where oil composition and consumption are explicitly defined. It was essentially confirmed by the 2018 regulations that at least someone was using octane boosting compounds that could be boiled out of engine oil above 210°C. If charge temperatures rise, an octane boosting oil might have been what prevented detonation in previous seasons. Now they may be left with altering other parameters which in turn reduce power output.
That, but also their max downforce aero package hasn't been as good as RBR in recent years so the tires struggled because of more sliding.digitalrurouni wrote: ↑17 Jul 2019, 17:56Could explain why the Mercedes is slower at Mexico then as well. High altitude. Can't get rid of the heat.
It would appear the compressor inlet stator vanes can be used as a throttle. If so, for what use?
On axial flow compressors the VSV are used to avoid operating on the wrong side of the compressors surge line. Are turbos susceptible to surge? If so, with the potential variable speeds of the F1 turbo could this be used as a similar function? Or, a way to keep the compressor at its optimal setting over a wide range of variable ICE intake air requirements.
Canada, France and Silverstone were hot, Merc had cooling problems in Austria because of the combination of high ambient temperatures and also the high altitude. Hockenheim is not high altitude, so regardless of the temperature, Merc were going to be ok.
They appear to be capable of fully shuttering closed. Which implies function beyond inducing helicity.Mudflap wrote: ↑23 Jul 2019, 23:41They are there strictly to provide pre-whirl at part load.