MP4-20 infrared sensors

[schumiGO]

Mates! Hi all! What interesting two holes you cae see on the monococ's center plase. near Pedro's knee.

[Tattoo-]

These 'holes' are actually IR sensors for measuring temperature of the front tires/wheels. Also, these sensors are seen on MP4/20 driven by Gary Paffett and not on the new MP4/21

See here (this photo is from Jerez last week, so the driver is Pedro):


They also used similar sensors for measuring temperature of the rear tires:

[CCRomeo]

thanks for the info

[monkeyboy1976]

These 'holes' are actually IR sensors for measuring temperature of the front tires/wheels. Also, these sensors are seen on MP4/20 driven by Gary Paffett and not on the new MP4/21

Cool. .
So they see a thermal image of the tyres during running. That is indeed cool. ('scuse the pun )

[wowf1]

Well it's the temperature they detect. They're fairly commonplace for home/hobby use now, although F1-style versions probably use telemetry.

[ranger]

cool sensors...but I think it's illegal...how about putting one beside the brake duct

[zjeeraar]

cool sensors...but I think it's illegal...

thats why they dont use them in the race and only in testing

[Monstrobolaxa]

In 2001 Mclaren used the rear ones in all races starting from the Italian GP...at the time they could use them....don't see why their illegal! If they're inside the dimensions stipulated by the regs....

(information about 2001 Mclaren taken from "F1 Technical Analysis 2001" - Giorgio Piola)

Putting them beside the brake ducts...that area is even harder to get stuff into...remeber Williams being disqualified from Canada 2004...because of a brake duct being too big? Besides that the sensors have to be behind or in front of the tire so they can "see" the surface that contacts with the ground of the tire

[DaveKillens]

Many years ago, when a car came off the track, a tire technician quickly made a temperature reading across each tire, and that information was part of the data they used for setups, tire construction, etc. But it was a coarse reading, and did not indicate what was happening to the tire during certain phases of operation.. braking, cornering, straight running. Now, they can see what the tire is doing under these conditions, and change the tire construction or suspension setup to accomodate an optimum setup. They have come a long way.
Although these devices are invaluable for design and setup, but have very little relevance during actual combat. For instance, if a right front tire was overheating on it's outside and blistering, it can be observed during a race, and only minor changes can be made. Basically add or remove front downforce, change compounds, ask the driver to alter his driving style, or add or remove tire pressure. You just can't alter the suspension geometry, that's not practical or feasable.

[Scuderia_Russ]

The hand held versions were featured in Racecar Engineering recently.

http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthr ... ge=1&pp=15

[Mikey_s]

I can't imagine why they would use an IR sensor near the brake duct - a thermocouple would be smaller and more accurate and could be situated precisely where they need it (e.g. in the brake pad/on the caliper).

[manchild]

Those are not just sensors but thermal cameras. Red rectangle on this pic marks only the lens while whole area around letters "MENS" of "SIEMENS" is a camera lid. Take a closer look at the pic and you'll see that it is a test chassis with cover for thermal cam fixed sideways.



http://www.engineeringtalk.com/news/fli/fli191.html

Thermal cameras aid F1 speed and safety

ThermaCAM fixed mounted and portable cameras are now used by more than a third of the Formula One teams to ensure critical components provide the competitive edge while ensuring driver safety.

The call to make Formula One racing more exciting has certainly put even more emphasis on the R and D teams to ensure best performance under enforced constraints. Although the ban on tyres being changed during the race will be lifted for the 2006 season, the continuing need to predict the thermal performance of tyres is still of vital importance. Indeed it was the driving force behind Flir Systems' latest order from the Formula One sector for a ThermaCAM A20 infra-red camera.

During a Grand Prix race a tyre rotates about 150,000 times with a vertical load in the region of 500kg.

Infra-red technology is the ideal method of showing the thermal performance of tyres under race conditions and in different weathers.

As Flir Systems' cameras operate in real time at 50Hz, dynamic changes in the thermal pattern can be easily monitored.

In addition to providing thermal information on tyres Flir Systems' cameras are used for a range of Formula One applications.

In addition to fault finding on electronic systems, ThermaCAM A-Series, S-Series and Phoenix infra-red cameras are being used in the performance testing of subcomponents and assemblies both on and off the car.

They are providing a detailed understanding of how the complex materials used in disc brakes react under load and how heat is dissipated in exhaust systems.

Damage assessment of composite structures is another important application.

http://www.usedircamera.com/cameras/cameras.asp

This is how a cat recorded by thermal cam looks like:

[scarbs]

I have done a full article on these cameras in racetech coming out this month...

Scarbs...