[Land-speed] high speed engines/tight clearances

Ed Weldon 23.weldon at comcast.net
Wed Apr 30 20:09:15 MDT 2008


Benn - Just guessing here--
 Heat the block and/or cool the pistons during assembly.  If the block
cooling passageways were completely sealed without the head being installed
or if it's an Offy type integral head/block then temperature controlled hot
water can circulate through the block at assembly to keep it's temperature
elevated.  Be tough to work on much over 120F; everything better go together
quick.  None of that fiddling and wiggling like we have to do on old
flatheads.
Further to my last email about CTE's (Coefficient ot Thermal Expansion) -- 
Pistons made out of an aluminum-ceramic composite with a CTE less than the
block might be the answer.  For the last 10 year or so the engineering world
has been hearing about aluminum composites with varying amounts of ceramic
content.  They're a lot stiffer and stronger than metal aluminum alloys and
as might be expected they have lower CTE's.  Not cheap or easy to machine.
Such materials would be naturals for pistons as long as they can transfer
heat adequetly and avoid metal to metal contact whereever oil films can't be
maintained (the hard ceramic in the metal is going to act like sandpaper if
the oil film fails.
OK, I don't keep up with F1 technology; so I may just be blowing dust in the
wind here.  But it's the best explanation I can think of.
Ed Weldon

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Benn" <karhu at california.com>
To: "land-speed-digest" <land-speed at autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 3:57 PM
Subject: Re: [Land-speed] VE, etc.>From>JG Magoo


> If they "seize" at room temp, how are they assembled?  Methinks there's
more
> to the story....
> Benn
>
> > An interesting tidbit that I heard on the TV from Steve Matchett on his
> > Inside Formula One TV show was that at normal room temperature (say
70-F)
> > a Formula One engine is completely SIEZED, and will NOT turn over with
the
> > starter. It is only after a period of time pre-heating it by pumping
180-F
> > water and 180-F oil through it that it reaches proper internal
clearances
> > where it can be turned-over and started by the starter apparatus.   Wow!
> > ;o)
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