M e r c e d e s -IL M O R : 1 0 Y e a r s o f P o w e r D e v e lo p m e n t o f th e F O 1 1 0 V 1 0 -3 .0 L F o r m u la 1 E n g in e T h e w o r ld w id e s u c c e s s o f F o r m u la O n e is s tr o n g ly in flu e n c e d b y th e a p p lic a tio n o f h ig h -le v e l te c h n o lo g y a n d h a s b e e n m a d e p o s s ib le b y th e g r e a t c o m m itm e n t a n d d e d ic a tio n o f th e e n g in e m a n u fa c tu r e r s . B e s id e s th e s k ills o f th e d r iv e r s a n d th e o p tim is a tio n o f th e v e h ic le th r o u g h th e u s e o f s o p h is tic a te d a e r o d y n a m ic s , th e p e r s is te n t r e d u c tio n in la p tim e s c a n b e a ttr ib u te d to th e e n o r m o u s d e v e lo p m e n t c o n c e r n in g th e ty r e s a n d th e e v e r m o r e p o w e r fu l e n g in e s . S in c e th e b e g in n in g o f 1 9 9 5 , th e p o w e r p e r fo r m a n c e o f th e M e r c e d e s F 1 e n g in e h a s in c r e a s e d b y o v e r 3 0 % a n d c u r r e n tly lie s a t 3 1 0 P S p e r litr e o f to ta l d is p la c e m e n t. T h e r a c in g s e a s o n o f 2 0 0 5 w ill b e th e la s t o n e fo r n o w to p e r m it th e u s e o f 3 .0 L V 1 0 e n g in e s . T h e p a s t te n y e a r s o f d e v e lo p m e n t o f th e V 1 0 e n g in e h a v e b e e n r e w a r d e d w ith tw o D r iv e r s ’ C h a m p io n s h ip title s , a C o n s tr u c to r C h a m p io n s h ip title a n d 3 4 G P v ic to r ie s fo r th e M e r c e d e s M c L a r e n T e a m a lto g e th e r . 1 1 INTRODUCTION 3 THE FO110Q - ENGINE The history of Mercedes-Benz is traditionally strongly Complying with the regulations, the engine is a 10- linked to the history of motorsport in Europe in general. cylinder construction with a V-angle of 90º - see After becoming legendary due to countless victories Figure 1. The aluminium cylinder head, manufactured during the 50s, the Silver Arrows resumed their in a sand cast process, carries two hollow-drilled steel participation in Formula One racing after a 50-year- camshafts on each side, which are driven by a gear long absence and are now embodied by the Mercedes drive and dampers at the front. The four valves for McLaren Team. each cylinder are partly pre-forged or manufactured The engines used are produced by Mercedes-ILMOR through friction welding from titanium. The engine in Brixworth/England, a subsidiary company of block is a closed-deck construction and also produced DaimlerChrysler. Like the engines of the other from aluminium by sand casting. competitors, they are naturally aspirated 3.0L V10 engines. The technical rules and regulations, which today’s engines are subject to, were put forward in 1994 and with the exception of minor limitations, concerning the permitted materials, very little has changed over the past ten years. This consistency has enabled engineers to produce an unprecedented power performance of 310PS per litre of total displacement. The process of finding the best performance and durability of the engine, followed by its integration into the driver & car package, requires making efficient use of all available resources; due to the great pressure created by competition it is unlike any other engine production process. The rapid development and the ever-changing boundary constraints in all fields of technology call for an above-average adaptability and dedication. It is these criteria, which create the fascination of motorsport from the point of view of the engineer. The power development discussed in this Figure 1: The Mercedes FO110 Q F1-Engine, 2004 article may only be a small part of the overall picture, but probably one of the most exciting ones. The casing of the water pumps on each side is integrated into the casting. The pistons are equipped with an oil ring and a compression ring and are constantly cooled by oil from below. The nitrite steel 2 THE REGULATIONS crankshaft runs in six bearings and is produced in its entirety at Mercedes-ILMOR. The lower main bearing The technical rules of F1 Racing are stipulated by the caps are screwed to the crankcase vertically as well as Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA), see horizontally. The sump plate is a load-bearing part of article 5 [1]. The key points can be summarised as the chassis hence it must be constructed in an follows: appropriately stout way. All auxiliaries are located on either side beneath the • 4 stroke piston engines exhaust manifold - see Figure 2. Coming from the • Naturally aspirated 3.0L V10 engines with no more water pump we find the centrifuge, the pump for the than 5 valves per cylinder pneumatics and all five suction pump systems (which • Variable exhaust volumes are not permitted are driven by an intermediate transmission) located on • Air may not be cooled during induction the right-hand side. • Composite materials may not be used for the On the opposite side we see the hydraulic pump, the pistons, the cylinder head or the engine block fuel pump and the drive for the generator (also via an • Camshafts and crankshaft must be made of steel intermediate transmission). Two oil pumps are used or cast iron and situated centrally at the end of the crankshaft. • External starting aids are allowed A further rule forbids the use of any metallic materials which have a specific elastic modulus of elasticity greater than 40 GPa / (g/cm3) for any parts of the car. 2 development of internal combustion engines, which is characterised by the following three concepts: - Optimisation of the gas exchange for maximum volumetric efficiency - Optimised combustion process - Minimising frictional losses According to the F1 regalement not more than 7 gears are used. Therefore at nearly all race circuits the engine is used in a speed range between 5.000 and 19.000 rpm. Especially the low and mid-range engine speeds require a good response and predictable torque outputs for optimum acceleration. Even though electronic aids can be used for additional support the issue of - Drivability is accredited with even greater importance when it comes to making use of the statistically developed power output in the dynamic operations. 5 THE ENGINE DEMANDS Figure 2: Arrangement of the auxiliary drives During the qualifying session (counting one fast lap) the line-up on the starting grid is determined for the The overall mass of the engine including the clutch is race on Sunday. The vehicle setup is the same as that around 95kg. For the control of the engine used during the race itself since no further changes, management the TAG 2000 Electronic System came including refuelling, are allowed to be made. into action. The running order of the cars during qualifying session, which can actually be of great strategical importance, is determined in the so-called pre- qualifying session, where adjustments to the vehicle 4 POWER are permitted in order to achieve the fastest possible The induced amount of air and fuel in a naturally time. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the aspirated Otto-cycle engine is moderated by natural fastest lap times are set during pre-qualifying and limits.