F1technical.net

Is it feasible to actually sculpt compressing "scoops" or vortex generators that directly feed and pressurize the airbox? Is it within the regs to "passively" super charge the engine with creative bodywork.

Thanks,

Chris

I dont know about scoops and vortex generators, they may add more drag or disturb the air going over the rest of the car too much to be of any advantage. It seems Adrian Newey has looked into this over the years though, getting his drivers to try out different helmet designs which would effect the airbox.
The airbox on the cars is designed to give a ram air effect, which is similar to supercharging and gives the engines about an extra 25 bhp(according to Gary Anderson).
One of the reasons the drivers have difficulty overtaking is when they get close to another car, the air going to the air box is disturbed, meaning the car loses the advantage of the ram air effect. So despite the fact the following car is in the leading ones slipstream, its down on power.

a link on ram air http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram-air_intake

The airboxes are already heavily tuned for a specific volume and they "manage" the air flow and do have positive pressure.

We know aero efficiency is king and that even airbox shape would be compromised at the altar of a better lift/drag ratio

Are there any regs specificially prohibiting the use of bodywork to increase the pressure within the airbox?

Chris

I am sure that increased intake pressure using anything other than the airflow is not allowed in the regs.

I suppose the question is how do you increase the airflow faster than it already is and also do the teams already do it?

I think they do it already but would love to see the shapes and volume of an airbox fitted to the motor - does it get compressed in the intakes above more than a nominal amount?

Conceptual wrote:Are there any regs specificially prohibiting the use of bodywork to increase the pressure within the airbox?

Chris

No, but at one stage there was a rule mandating a hole in the airbox (to expel this pressure). I think it might have been 1994.

zac510 wrote:

Conceptual wrote:Are there any regs specificially prohibiting the use of bodywork to increase the pressure within the airbox?

Chris

No, but at one stage there was a rule mandating a hole in the airbox (to expel this pressure). I think it might have been 1994.

It would be very interesting to see if that is still in effect.

Scarbs or Ogami have any info on this?

Chris

This is not in effect any more. The motors were 3.5l and they needed to slow the cars.

CMSMJ1 wrote:This is not in effect any more. The motors were 3.5l and they needed to slow the cars.

Maybe that is the entire problem here. People are continuously complaining that the driver is less and less in control of the car that he is driving.

Maybe they need to stop "slowing down the cars" and allow the man that is piloting it to be the discerning factor on how fast it goes around the track.

Chris

Then the drivers keep trying to make the cars go faster

This already exists to some extent. I have a graph of the Ferrari F1-2000 and the HP produced by the motor vs the velocity of the car. At a higher speed the air in the airbox is pressurized more, creating more HP. The total gain is around 10 HP I believe towards the top speed of the car. This is from 2000 so one can only believe that is has developed more since then.

Additionally, in any pressure vessel the air naturally tries to escape, in the case of the airbox, the air is coming in from the opening so it isn't even sealed. This makes it more difficult to pressurize effectively meaning that the car has to be going very fast. To some extent this was the "Ram-Air" gimmick that has been boasted about in the past on road cars. However the effect at any road speed is so minimal I doubt it contributes a measurable amount of HP.


EDIT: From CFD analysis of the airboxes and common sense we can see the air slows down the farther down it is. This only serves to work against the "aero-charging" effect. I'll see if I can dig up a few pictures.

zac510 wrote:Then the drivers keep trying to make the cars go faster

Isn't that what the drivers get paid for???

If the driver wants to risk his life a bit more by trying to go faster, then that is his call, and his call alone.

Isn't that what makes people like Senna, Schumacher and Fangio true greats? They had the biggest balls of them all?

Chris