In this review of engine technologies, we report on energy recovery systems in F1 and ways in which to reduce engine vibrations and simulate vehicle dynamics.
Energy recovery systems in F1
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This year marks a step change in the F1 regulations. A raft of aero and powertrain rules are set to create a more efficient race car with more direct links to road car technologies. V8s, used since 2006, will be replaced by all new 1.6 litre turbo charged V6. Engines are now also referred to as ‘power units’ thanks to the increased hybrid nature of their power generation. As track testing of this new ‘turbo’ and what some describe as an ‘energy efficient’ era, one supplier to the F1 teams told us about the impact of the rules on its business and how it is responding to the challenges. We recently witnessed the first race for the new cars.
With regard to the key changes for the power unit, Terry Graham, managing director of Zircotec, a supplier of thermal management products and heat protective coatings reckons that the key change here is the power unit architecture. Out go the 2.4 litre naturally aspirated V8s, replaced by a smaller capacity 1.6 turbocharged V6 engine with a fuel limit of 100kg, that’s about 130 litres. “Eight speed transmissions are to be introduced, partly to cope with the rises in torque with the hybrid aspects of the unit. KERS, the kinetic energy recovery system used since in the sport since 2009, is now called ERS-K (Energy Recovery System Kinetic). It now has twice the power output and five times the energy storage of the previous system. In addition to this we have a new system called ERS-H. This stands for Energy Recovery System – Heat) and it is mounted to the engine’s turbocharger. The ERS-H can spin the turbo up itself to reduce lag or deliver recovered energy back to the engine via the ERS-K. The complexity and heat aspects of the new power units make this extremely relevant to Zircotec and our technologies to manage heat in harsh environments.”
For some time, Zircotec’s engineers have been working closely with F1 designers and engineers to find solutions but once the cars hit the track, then other issues tend to appear. “We are ready for this,” added Graham, “We have a night shift ready for the past few months to be able to turn parts around in the same day. In fact up to the first race, our work for F1 teams has doubled compared to last year. With the cars now running on track in the races, more technical challenges are coming to light and we are working with the teams to help them claw back reliability.“
Simulating vehicle dynamics
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By GlobalDataMeanwhile, UK-based rFactor Pro focuses on simulators for engineering development of vehicle dynamics and the control systems and active safety systems that affect vehicle dynamics. The company is moving into the automotive sector and has developed new ultra fast response software which allows automakers to simulate vehicle dynamics in a way that has not been possible before. Normally, simulation is restricted to tasks such as, driver fatigue and cabin ergonomic development. rFactor Pro’s technology allows automakers to accurately simulate active safety systems (such as SUV rollover), NVH, ride and handling.
rFactor Pro’s ultra fast response simulator software extends the scope of vehicle simulation by reducing the time between inputs from the driver and responses from the system during what is called ‘driver-in-the-loop’ (DIL) simulation. The software is based on closing the loop through the driver as quickly as possible while providing very high bandwidth video and audio feeds to him or her, and high bandwidth road surface detail to the vehicle model. rFactor Pro’s technical director, Chris Hoyle believes that this facilitates the accurate simulation of handling, active safety systems, ride, NVH, control system integrity and much more. “The leading vehicle modelling tools used to study vehicle dynamics are already at the necessary level to allow DIL simulation. The missing links have been suitable high-bandwidth software to close the loop quickly enough through the driver, and motion platforms with sufficiently low inertia to provide quick enough responses. This enables vehicle manufacturers to identify a whole range of potential issues very early in the engineering programme when they are relatively easy and cheap to fix. The alternative is to wait until prototype vehicles are available for test and the consequences of any changes are more serious.”
Reducing engine vibrations
In piston engineering, a balance shaft is a weighted shaft that offsets vibrations in engine designs that are not inherently balanced. This vibration occurs since the movement of the connecting rods in an even-firing four cylinder inline engine are symmetrical throughout the crankshaft rotation. Four-cylinder flat engines in the boxer configuration, however, have their pistons horizontally opposed. This means that they are naturally balanced and do need the additional complexity and frictional lasses that come with balance shafts.
Last March, General Motors’ European unit Opel announced details of its new mid-size petrol engine family. The new 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, SIDI (spark ignition direct injection) Ecotec Turbo engines, the start of a renewal of the automaker’s powertrains (a new 1.6 diesel is on the way to replace the current 1.7) offers CO2 emissions and fuel consumption cut 13 percent compared to the previous engine while peak torque and power have been increased up to 33 percent.
More specifically, Opel’s SIDI Ecotec is the only engine in its class to offer balance shafts. Two balance shafts are inserted in tunnels from the rear end of the cylinder block and driven by an inverted-tooth chain. The exhaust side shaft features cast iron gears to reverse rotational direction of the exhaust shaft. The optional system offsets the vibrations inherent in the design of four-cylinder engines and thus helps to maximize comfort and reduce noise to a minimum.
Among the major producers of balance shafts is Metaldyne. The supplier’s diversified, highly-engineered product has given it a market leadership position in the balance shaft system sector. Metaldyne’s core engineering team develops and patents technologies that can deliver balance shaft systems to meet customer-specific requirements, either in-house or using technology partnerships. “We understand the interaction of the overall system,” said Steve Chevalier, Director of Engineering for Metaldyne. “That means we know how to optimise the design, both from a performance and packaging perspective for the customer.”
Stephanie Jett, Vice President of Sales – Vibration Control Systems, Metaldyne adds that the company uses patented technology to meet its customers’ specific requirements. She told us: “We use our best-in-class manufacturing, quality and engineering to support [our] customers as balancing shafts are very customer specific. There is nothing off-the-shelf.”
Like most automotive technologies, which are created for the luxury segment cars and permeate to the mid- and lower-segments, balance shafts are no exception. “It comes down to a cost-benefit analysis that automakers or customers do,” said Jett. “And some of it is the voice of the customer that says, ‘Hey I’ve ridden in a luxury vehicle and I really like that NVH performance. I wish my vehicle acted the same.’ So what drives it more so than anything is the customer asking and understanding what they are really looking for. NVH has become one of the higher priorities in all major markets. The days of having something that’s objectionable from a noise perspective when you’re driving are long gone.”
The main drivers of mass balancer systems in the auto industry today are fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, weight, friction and NVH behaviour. Michael Hofer, Product Manager – Mass Balance Systems & e-Phaser (Fluid, Pressure & Controls Group). Magna Powertrain recalls the days when balancers were made of heavy cast iron housings and had more straightforward concepts like hydrodynamic bearings, standard helical gears and so on, adding: “As demands from the OEMs became more stringent, we were pushed to achieve greater efficiencies in these areas”
Magna Powertrain has a unique design and assembly process to produce mass balancer systems. It can offer a single piece housing structure which allows it to run the balancer shaft directly in an aluminium housing structure without the need to install bushings or bearing shells.
Although the application of polymer gears has been much talked about, its actual use is minimal. Hofer believes that, in this respect, durability is critical. “As we see it, plastic materials have not advanced far enough to make it into balancer applications without supporting sub-technologies, such as torque dampers. However, polymer gears are being developed for specific applications.”
Last August, Magna Powertrain launched a mass balancer system for Volvo’s new 4 cylinder engine which is a common platform across their new diesel and gasoline engines. For this application,” added Hofer, “our balancer operates with roller bearings to save friction. The integral housing is made from lightweight aluminium die casting – a standard for these products in our company. This reduces weight, and provides very low friction and excellent NVH characteristics.”
