F1 Hydraulic Pump, a closer look

[strad]

Very informative as usual Brian.
Thank You

[ispano6]

Thanks folks - Indeed....lot of punch for tiny footprint.

Will give it a second read over in the morn - think its pretty ok though.

Brian,

Hi Brian, could electronic interference of the ecu lead to a malfunction that would replicate or cause loss of hydraulic pressure? In other words, can you have a loss of hydraulic pressure without having a physical leak?

[saviour stivala]

A loss of hydraulic pressure in a formula one hydraulic system without a physical leak cannot even happen when the pump itself is not rotating. Such as when the engine is shut down. The loss of pressure will only happen when the ‘accumulator’ pressure/capacity is used-up.

[godlameroso]

Thanks folks - Indeed....lot of punch for tiny footprint.

Will give it a second read over in the morn - think its pretty ok though.

Brian,

Hi Brian, could electronic interference of the ecu lead to a malfunction that would replicate or cause loss of hydraulic pressure? In other words, can you have a loss of hydraulic pressure without having a physical leak?

I remember not too long ago I replaced the clutch slave cylinder in my car. But I was occasionally not being able to go into gear or had a slight crunch. I figured that was odd, I bled everything perfectly, what's wrong, there's no leaks, what's going on?

Every oil change I like to flush the clutch hydraulics, so after I did my oil change I go and syphon out all the old fluid from the reservoir, fill with fresh fluid, get in the car and pump the clutch pedal 100 times. When I went to do my second drain and fill and pump, I noticed there was a piece of foil, likely from the bottle of brake fluid floating around in the reservoir.

Suddenly everything clicked, that little piece of foil was at times partly covering the hole that leads to the master piston. That's why it was not going into gear and I had to pump the clutch again. The foil covered and reduced hydraulic flow to the line, locking me out of gear and leading to occasional gear crunchies.

Not saying this was the issue at RBR, but something to think about. One little detail caused me to practically lose my mind to look for an answer. On second thought this probably wouldn't have happened if I didn't ask my neighbor to help me, but he didn't know, so I can't blame him.

[Brian Coat]

Thanks, Brian.

Another really interesting post.

It is common to see these technology streams of these two arenas show up in F1 and here we see a standard aero part applied directly in F1.

The R&D budgets of global motorsport are a drop in the ocean compared to global aerospace and automotive, so you harvest what you need and can deploy quickly, be it technology or parts. And add some of your own technology where it counts the most.

Great stuff.