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Techniques used to make this F1 wishbone could increase composites usage in automotive.
The Formula One (F1) industry is one of the more extensive users of composite materials, as the lightweight nature of composites aids greatly in race teams looking to clock the quickest time. But can F1’s unique composite techniques trickle down to the mainstream automotive industry?
Formtech Composites thinks so, and it’s stepping up efforts to educate other industries on new ways of incorporating composite materials. Managing Editor Mark Preston has worked in the technical side of the motorsport industry for over a decade, and researching how to incorporate those technologies into the wider automotive industry and enhance composites usage beyond F1.
Structural health monitoring is at the heart of these efforts. Preston says that car companies are used to knowing that parts made of traditional materials can last for several decades. Composites don’t have that history, and thus lack a robust performance history. “My opinion is we target lightweight part with structural health monitoring systems, so we start at the higher end ranges and monitor them to project more confidence,” he says. Continuous monitoring is an important step to accomplish this objective. “To give an example of how we do this in F1, after every few races, we do 100 percent load inspection testing where we monitor the part under full load conditions and we check it using acoustic emission analysis and if it’s OK, we send it again,” explains Preston.
Preston says one of the roadblocks for companies automating F1 type parts is because it’s a complicated process integrating a lot of functionality in the car. For example, the monocoque does a lot of jobs (body work, safety cell, chassis, fuel cell protection, driver’s seat, mount points for suspension members) and thus integrates a lot of functionality into one part. “It’s a complicated process, but there’s a performance gain to be had, so there’s a trade-off,” he says. “If you want to get the ultimate in performance and weight, you need to integrate functionality even though it’s complicated.”
The company has worked on integrating composites into a rear top wishbone (which acts as a suspension member) of an F1 car to illustrate this potential. The part had typically been made of steel due to temperature from exhaust pipes in the engine. The company reduced weight in the part by introducing carbon legs and retained titanium end pieces to handle stress concentrations around the joints. The result is a full carbon wishbone with fewer manufacturing processes and reduced complexity, including the removal of bonded joints which require complex sign off processes.
Ultimately, Preston believes one of the guiding principles of F1 philosophy manufacturers can harness is to think outside the box. This goes beyond simply replicating an existing metal part from composites, which will lower the weight but also raise the cost. “As companies integrate more functionality, they’re adding more value. That’s difficult to do in metal, to add curves and shapes to enhance the material itself. At some point, you can’t do it in metal.” Approaching business in terms of functionality could appeal more to companies looking to adopt new technologies.
