the best materials

[mitsos]

what are the best materials that are used in engines that produce high hp/litre?

As far as i know the best materials when you're building a race engine are:2618 piston material with ptfe coating on top and skirt coating,4340 forged steel con-rods(or titanium?),4340 forged steel cranckshaft,trimetal bearings and inconel valves for the exhaust side...

Are there other materials with much greater properties than these above but they are not use because of cost?

I've heard about beryllium pistons in mercedes's f1 engine...i've heard for cranckshaft made from billet titanium...tha craziest i've ever heard is bearingless con-rods..i know they allready exist in some small cc cross bikes but how can they used in a high hp/litre engine?

[noname]

what are the best materials that are used in engines that produce high hp/litre? (...)

2618 is quite ordinary, price is its main advantage. Stuff like i.e. MS95 is being used for high performance applications, and racing diesels were using steel pistons (they were even lighter than AL ones).

[Facts Only]

2040, Haynes, Waspalloy, Udimet, CuBo, and loads of other stuff that I had never heard of.

As said 2618 is your 'basic' material that's used as a default for most stuff. 2014 is for cheap stuff.

[markc]

I've heard about beryllium pistons in mercedes's f1 engine...

This was as a means to increase power by increasing volume in cylinder due to the elastic properties of the beryllium alloy (giving a longer stroke).

[mitsos]

2040, Haynes, Waspalloy, Udimet, CuBo, and loads of other stuff that I had never heard of..

What are all these??the only thing i've heard of is waspalloy which is used for exhaust valves material...a similar is hastalloy...

[Brian Coat]

what are the best materials that are used in engines that produce high hp/litre?

They are often older (but still used) Aerospace industry alloys.

For example from FOs list, above: Waspalloy 1950s, Udimet 1970s.

The ultra-pure maraging steels sometimes used for things like cranks come from Aerospace suppliers, too.

I believe the constraints on using more advanced materials can include : No. 1 the rule book, No. 2 commercial availability and No.3 the lack of budget/expertise/justification/time to develop custom materials.

[markc]

Exactly. Well put Brian - and with regards to the expertise - and back to Be/Al:

McLaren / Merc were way ahead of Ferrari (so that's No 3. on your list), so they, Ferrari, asked for a tech clarification and thus a banning of Be/Al ensued (so then No 1. from your list applied)!

McLaren / Mercedes (Ilmor) had worked out, with time and considerable cost, how to handle the material as it was carcinogenic during manufacture, but safe once the machining was completed.

Ron was quoted as saying:

...we were using beryllium very successfully there was no reason why we should not have been able to continue using what was a very good technical advantage coming out of months and months of research and a great amount of funding.

Here for full press conf: http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/itali ... 003-09-14/

[Tommy Cookers]

I suspect that there's little benefit with eg a maraging steel crankshaft
the bearing material capacity would surely dictate the crankshaft dimensions overall
ok ultra high strength would allow eg thinner sections, reducing by microseconds the exposure to non-optimal torque in shifts and acceleration
and such design using that material's strength would not give good fatigue life (as iirc Tony Rudd said c.1965)

maraging steel may have residual magnetism - this can lead to invisible weld defects or voiding with eg electron beam welding
also it is tolerant when by mistake given the heat treatment appropriate only for conventional steels
and availability issues may demand reforging for size


the so-called Beryllium piston generated posts and links eg p2 of the Mercedes Power Unit thread in the Engines, Trans & Controls section
2% iirc Beryllium Copper is of course the ideal valve seat material, and 1-1.5% the ideal material for electrical contactors, relays and connectors