F1technical.net

hmmm what a news!
BMW researching if it's possible to use a nuclear core in its engine from Munchen aerospace, and thereby make it possible to reach 30000 rpm.

Will be interesting to see if the FIA approves it when the time comes, but I'm afraid not..

What do you guys think about it?

Hey

I was just wondering where you picked-up this info about BMW as it sounds pretty out there. I haven't heard a thing about the '03 BMW engine so hopefully they are brewing-up something special.
After-all if the F2003 does to everyone what the F2002 did, I think I will start watching CART racing instead

A German magazine published that last week. The magazine is worth believing and the redaction of it says they have valid sources, so this is nt a rumor found out by someone..

What I'm thinking of now.. longer exhausts have a lower resonance, so when that engine would achieve 30.000 rpm, it might be useful to shorten the exhaust, to keep the resonance "on schedule" with the engine. Otherwise it will slightly disturb the revolution of the engine..

Quite interesting Tomba, but could you elaborate more on how the supposed 'nuclear core' will work as this is really the first i've heard of such story....

revving at 30,000rpm??? wow..that would certainly be out of this world. The question is will every bit of the engine parts would be able to withstand the power.

How short would the exhaust be at 30,000 rpm

no exhausts at all would be nice, back to the 70's, without the bonnets..

kewl!

For the technology after that nuclear core.. well as much as I'm busy with the technical stuff around formula 1, I have no clue how it should work.
At was though also said that the nuclear particles will be small enough to operate safely, even at the time of a malfunction.
My guesses are that somehow those particles will launch the valves of the engine, but I'm not sure of that. We know these move up and down 300 times a second, thus whitstanding more than 6000 G at 18.000 rpm. Any extra speed on these paddles will surely allow for more throttle and revs per minute...

It all sounds very interesting...from a technical advancement point of view. Would get more protest than approval from environmentalist i would predict.

Without bonnets??? extra overtime for those guys working in the windtunnels then

well... I don't have to pay them

Hope you don't mind a late response on this issue. Considering the FIA banned the use of exotic metals such as beryllium in the building of engines,the chance of a "nuclear core" would seem rather unlikely. Could you imagine valves trying to open 600 times per second, think rotary valves could possibly work and much more reliably if they can get the timing correct.

Sincerly,

Paul

Quite apart from the problem of keeping the engine mecanically together at these sort of RPM are the problems of volumetric (breathing) and combustion efficiency. There is no point gong for higher RPM unless the cylinders are being filled and the contents burned - this would be very challenging at these RPM.