Intake Cooling

[Jolle]

I've always wondered if Mercedes aren't using the fuel to help with the cooling of their air-to-water intercooler because of the opportunities that its placement provides.

Because the intercooler is next to the fuel? Direct interaction would be difficult, the kevlar bladder is also a good insulator and the fuel is inside the safety cell while the intercooler is outside. I don't think the have some kind of "fuel vapour" system that coincides with the intercooler, this would need much plumbing that it would have caught the eye before.

[Dr. Acula]

On the off chance that the fuel is utilized for cooling..Is it making a difference that hot full is utilized in the chamber infusion process?

Yes, but it's actually something positive. Hot fuel evaporates a bit faster once it's injected because...well, it's hot. The cooling effect fuel generates in the cylinder comes mainly from the evaporation effect anyway. Petrol has a Specific heat capacity somewhere between 1.7 and 2kJ/kg*K. But the heat of evaporation is ~420kJ/kg.

[hurril]

I've always wondered if Mercedes aren't using the fuel to help with the cooling of their air-to-water intercooler because of the opportunities that its placement provides.

Might need a way to cool the fuel back down. By what means?

My thought is that the fuel start out Very Cool(tm) and the fuel piping is routed through the intercooler in a smart way or just circulated through it. It'll only provide use at the first third:ish of the race but everything counts. Naturally these are just fantasies but I kinda want to believe them in the case

[hurril]

I've always wondered if Mercedes aren't using the fuel to help with the cooling of their air-to-water intercooler because of the opportunities that its placement provides.

Because the intercooler is next to the fuel? Direct interaction would be difficult, the kevlar bladder is also a good insulator and the fuel is inside the safety cell while the intercooler is outside. I don't think the have some kind of "fuel vapour" system that coincides with the intercooler, this would need much plumbing that it would have caught the eye before.

I wasn't thinking of any sort of compressor/ vapour-deal. Just a simple: heat up a rather large mass of something very cool.

[roon]

I've always wondered if Mercedes aren't using the fuel to help with the cooling of their air-to-water intercooler because of the opportunities that its placement provides.

Because the intercooler is next to the fuel? Direct interaction would be difficult, the kevlar bladder is also a good insulator and the fuel is inside the safety cell while the intercooler is outside. I don't think the have some kind of "fuel vapour" system that coincides with the intercooler, this would need much plumbing that it would have caught the eye before.

I wasn't thinking of any sort of compressor/ vapour-deal. Just a simple: heat up a rather large mass of something very cool.

In place since at least 2017:

6.5.2 No fuel intended for immediate use in a car may be more than ten degrees centigrade below
ambient temperature. When assessing compliance, the ambient temperature will be that
recorded by the FIA appointed weather service provider one hour before any practice session
or two hours before the race. This information will also be displayed on the timing monitors.

The temperature of fuel intended for use in a car must be measured via an FIA approved and
sealed sensor.

6.5.3 The use of any device on board the car to decrease the temperature of the fuel is forbidden.

[Jolle]

Because the intercooler is next to the fuel? Direct interaction would be difficult, the kevlar bladder is also a good insulator and the fuel is inside the safety cell while the intercooler is outside. I don't think the have some kind of "fuel vapour" system that coincides with the intercooler, this would need much plumbing that it would have caught the eye before.

I wasn't thinking of any sort of compressor/ vapour-deal. Just a simple: heat up a rather large mass of something very cool.

In place since at least 2017:

6.5.2 No fuel intended for immediate use in a car may be more than ten degrees centigrade below
ambient temperature. When assessing compliance, the ambient temperature will be that
recorded by the FIA appointed weather service provider one hour before any practice session
or two hours before the race. This information will also be displayed on the timing monitors.

The temperature of fuel intended for use in a car must be measured via an FIA approved and
sealed sensor.

6.5.3 The use of any device on board the car to decrease the temperature of the fuel is forbidden.

these are more in place to keep the fuel flow in check. Although the rule is "kg/h" the measurement it in flow speed and then calculated back in weight. If you cool the fuel, you can get more then 100kg/h pass the sensor.

[hurril]

I wasn't thinking of any sort of compressor/ vapour-deal. Just a simple: heat up a rather large mass of something very cool.

In place since at least 2017:

6.5.2 No fuel intended for immediate use in a car may be more than ten degrees centigrade below
ambient temperature. When assessing compliance, the ambient temperature will be that
recorded by the FIA appointed weather service provider one hour before any practice session
or two hours before the race. This information will also be displayed on the timing monitors.

The temperature of fuel intended for use in a car must be measured via an FIA approved and
sealed sensor.

6.5.3 The use of any device on board the car to decrease the temperature of the fuel is forbidden.

these are more in place to keep the fuel flow in check. Although the rule is "kg/h" the measurement it in flow speed and then calculated back in weight. If you cool the fuel, you can get more then 100kg/h pass the sensor.

Plus: the fuel in the line is going to be way over the ambient temperature; only: in the fuel tank it won't.

[roon]

Is the temp sensor in-line or in the tank?

[gruntguru]

I wasn't thinking of any sort of compressor/ vapour-deal. Just a simple: heat up a rather large mass of something very cool.

In place since at least 2017:

6.5.2 No fuel intended for immediate use in a car may be more than ten degrees centigrade below
ambient temperature. When assessing compliance, the ambient temperature will be that
recorded by the FIA appointed weather service provider one hour before any practice session
or two hours before the race. This information will also be displayed on the timing monitors.

The temperature of fuel intended for use in a car must be measured via an FIA approved and
sealed sensor.

6.5.3 The use of any device on board the car to decrease the temperature of the fuel is forbidden.

these are more in place to keep the fuel flow in check. Although the rule is "kg/h" the measurement it in flow speed and then calculated back in weight. If you cool the fuel, you can get more then 100kg/h pass the sensor.

Not likely. The temperature of fuel passing through the sensor is measured and used in the calculation of mass flow.

[Dr. Acula]

In place since at least 2017:

6.5.2 No fuel intended for immediate use in a car may be more than ten degrees centigrade below
ambient temperature. When assessing compliance, the ambient temperature will be that
recorded by the FIA appointed weather service provider one hour before any practice session
or two hours before the race. This information will also be displayed on the timing monitors.

The temperature of fuel intended for use in a car must be measured via an FIA approved and
sealed sensor.

6.5.3 The use of any device on board the car to decrease the temperature of the fuel is forbidden.

The rule is a lot older.

In the 2013 rules.

6.5.2 No fuel intended for immediate use in a car may be more than ten degrees centigrade below ambient temperature. When assessing compliance, the ambient temperature will be that recorded by the FIA appointed weather service provider one hour before any practice session or two hours before the race. This information will also be displayed on the timing monitors.The temperature of fuel intended for use in acar must be measured via an FIA approved and sealed sensor.

And i think the rule is even older than this and is actually a remnant of the refueling days. If i remember correctly, the FIA introduced this rule because Teams startet to cool down the fuel for the refueling rigs. The rigs provided 12l/s to the car. But the Teams internally always calculate with the fuel mass and petrol has a very high heat expansion rate. So basically they could refuel faster with cold fuel than with warm fuel.

[roon]

fwiw plenum is defined as:

PU Engine air inlet system from plenum entry to cylinder head (e.g. plenum, trumpets,
throttles)