Engine cooling

DorianF1 · Post 20 May 2004, 18:48

Hi!

I'd like to know whether F1 teams use special devices placed in the sidepods intakes to make the air pressure higher. If so, can anyone tell me how it works and looks like, please?

DorianF1

West · Post 20 May 2004, 19:16

Making a diverging duct is one way of increasing the pressure. If you think about using Bernoulli's eqn, given that the flow is incompressible and there are no other losses (no fluxes or generation terms) then u see that a larger cross sectional area will decrease the speed of the fluid, while increasing the local pressure of the fluid. It's like making up for lost energy w/ a lower speed.

DorianF1 · Post 20 May 2004, 19:59

OK West. Thanks man! But does any F1 team use such thing to increase the air pressure in the inlet before airflow hits radiator? I'm not sure so that's why I ask.

Guest · Post 20 May 2004, 21:25

actually one can create thrust thru the radiator ducts.
Interestingly ,current F1 designs seem to ignore this and opt for a short intake duct.divergent,yes but way too short to actually creat thrust.
marcush.

sid · Post 20 May 2004, 22:15

How about super chargers of turbo chargers?

Guest · Post 21 May 2004, 01:31

sid wrote:How about super chargers of turbo chargers?

i mean super chargers or turbo chargers, but later on realized no super chargers allowed (or was it no turbochargers)

Reca · Post 21 May 2004, 09:24

actually one can create thrust thru the radiator ducts.
Interestingly ,current F1 designs seem to ignore this and opt for a short intake duct.divergent,yes but way too short to actually creat thrust.
marcush.

Thrust is the variation of (mass flow * velocity) [kg/s * v], since the mass flow is constant, to have a thrust you need to increase the velocity.
As previously noticed a divergent (at subsonic speed) reduces the velocity.

The sidepod theoretically could generate a small amount of thrust but that’s because of the increment of temp (hence of energy) of the airflow passing thru the radiator. With a converging duct behind the radiator you can convert the added thermal energy in kinetic energy so you have the same mass flow, but an higher speed.

Guest · Post 21 May 2004, 10:18

next time I will think about it longer before postin,thanks.
why does no F1 Team have their ducts starting at the front of theCar?
ok ,would get you some additional surface area,but the inlet would run in clean air and so could be smaller ,or am I wron again?

Reca · Post 21 May 2004, 19:15

I’m not sure I do understand what you are suggesting, do you mean placing a couple of ducts at the sides of the nosecone possibly passing between the suspension arms and then ending on the sidepods ?
First thing coming to mind is that the rule are limiting the area where you can put bodywork between the wheels but then I see also some downsides from the aerodynamic point of view to be evaluated.

marcush. · Post 27 Jul 2004, 14:24

oops sorry ,did miss this one in the last weeks...

extending the Inlet cooling ducts to the front of the car(Below the elevated footbox would make for an excellent wingsupport ,a stiff lower wishbone mount without having a keel ,or twin keels and would give a super clean airflow over the sidepods,as you had no openings in the cars mainstructure (save the cockpit and engine airscoop) and the opening could be considerably smaller than on the sides if I am not totally wrong..