materials used in formula 1

monstre11 · Post 11 Jun 2003, 13:08

hi ,i'm a in engineering's school and i have to realize a project based on the materials which are used in formula 1 and why they are used.
So i search some information about materials used in wheel, tyres, engine (piston ,connecting rod,etc), chassis, suspension, gear, cockpit and brakes and other part of the car.
If someone has technical information about it , thanks to reply this post and giving me links.

Monstrobolaxa · Post 11 Jun 2003, 17:46

Well I do have quite a lot of information conserning this matter....but mainly in books...there a a few books you can look at. Formula 1 Technology by Peter Wright....a Tecnology of the F1 Car....by Sometinh Mckight!....but I also have some articles about Formula 1 materials....I'll post a list of materials and their use....but you can also look up the subject in aeronautics material books, because almost all materials used in Formula 1 were developed for aeronautical purpose....carbon, kevlar, gold foil,titanium, etc.

I'll be posting something for you in 2/3 days.

monstre11 · Post 11 Jun 2003, 22:19

thanks a lot for your post monstrobolaxa, i'll wait for your post with.
if you have the book of peter wright, could you scan me a few pages which interested me?
It would be perfect if you send me documents before this week end because i have to give my project next tuesday.

Post 12 Jun 2003, 17:10

maybe the article here about carbonfibre can help you along.
I just got some ideas to write articles about ....

I also think I've mentioned exotic materials that would have been used in engines, if they were not forbidden

Monstrobolaxa · Post 14 Jun 2003, 05:07

Well.....on such short notice...I'll write down the materials that can remember the others you'll have to wait until monday....sorrt but it's the best I can do!

Well:

- Carbon Fibre and Aramid (Kevlar) - used in the monocoque, bodywork, air box, steering wheel (and not wood like once a frined of mine said) and in the suspension wishbones (bur reinforced with Titanium or Steel in the smaller teams).

- Aluminum Honeycomb - is used in the monocoque and in almost every part of the bodywork (i didn't know this untill a few weeks ago!) - it's put in the middle of the carbon/aramid fibre.

- magnesium - wheels and some small parts of the engine

- gold foil - used in the back of the monocoque to prevent heat transfer from the engine to the fuel tank.

Well...and those are all I can remeber......on monday I'll post a topic about the engine materials.....

Guest · Post 14 Jun 2003, 10:24

thanks a lot monstrobolaxa but i found a lot of information since last day so don't worry about me .

lesane · Post 05 Nov 2009, 22:48

HI i woul like to talk about materials used in F1 While new materials have been developed and added over the past few years, some have fallen out of use.
For example, it is hard to imagine now that a wooden board was ever an essential component of a Formula 1 car, but when the 'plank' on the floor of the car was first introduced in 1994, to enforce a minimum ride height, wood was the chosen material.

compo · Post 06 Nov 2009, 04:45

Krispy · Post 06 Nov 2009, 23:01

lesane wrote: wood was the chosen material.

Another F1 Site wrote:It isn't just a block of wood though. It's called Jabroc. It's made of Beech wood and built in a composite process. Veneers are layered and a high strength resin is used in each layer, then they are pressurized and pressed, and brought to a certain and very consistent material density, so each Jabroc skid plank is essentially identical in terms of wear rate and material density, mere wood would not be even close to that consistent. So it may be a wooden product in nature, but the technology and process that goes into building it is right in place with most other objects on an F1 car.
.

Goony, can you confirm or deny this statement?

czt · Post 06 Nov 2009, 23:32

It is Jabroc, which is an expensive wood based laminate.

http://www.jabroc.com/

(the pic on the front page shows a plank)

Krispy · Post 06 Nov 2009, 23:44

So when the cars are heavily aero loaded and scrape, what material is causing the sparks that we see? Fasteners?

czt · Post 07 Nov 2009, 00:01

It's very rare to see sparks these days, although you do see dust from the plank scraping more often.

In the pre-plank days the sparks would be cause by skid block made from tungsten (i think)

mx_tifoso · Post 07 Nov 2009, 02:35

czt wrote:It's very rare to see sparks these days, although you do see dust from the plank scraping more often.

In the pre-plank days the sparks would be cause by skid block made from tungsten (i think)

Take a gander at images of a GP held at night and you will see sparks-galore...

compo · Post 09 Nov 2009, 00:38

Ciro Pabón · Post 09 Nov 2009, 05:33

I think the sparks come from the fasteners that attach the skid block to the chassis. Ten of them can be flush with the surface of the skid block.

3.13.2 Fasteners used to attach the skid block to the car must :
a) have a total area no greater than 40000mm² when viewed from directly beneath the car ;
b) be no greater than 2000mm² in area individually when viewed from directly beneath the car ;
c) be fitted in order that their entire lower surfaces are visible from directly beneath the car.
When the skid block is new, ten of the fasteners may be flush with its lower surface but the remainder may be no more than 8mm below the reference plane.

I'd guess that the fasteners take most of the "scratching load": the skid block can't lose more than 1 mm in thickness during the whole race, or so I read at regulations, so I wouldn't be scratching it liberally. Hence the sparks that seem to happen (I concurr with mx_tifosi) every time a car bottoms out.