Smaller turbocharged engines and a new energy recovery system set to shake up racing
In an effort to reduce the fuel consumption of a Formula One car by up to 35%, the FIA, the sport’s ruling body, has introduced some major changes for the 2014 season. It not only touches the aerodynamics, it includes the engine and introduces the racing world to the next-generation of the Energy Recovery System, or ERS for short. Normally, this might only be of interest to an avid race fan, however, given the work in this arena will eventually trickle down to road-going cars, it’s an important initiative.
The single biggest change is found in the powertrain. Gone is the 2.4-litre, naturally aspirated V8 and seven-speed transmission in favour of a much smaller 1.6L turbocharged V6 that’s teamed with an eight-speed box. The differences between the two powertrains are manifold.
Aside from the drop in displacement, the new engine now uses a turbocharger that blows air into the engine via an air-to-air intercooler and direct injection — at last the world’s most technical sport has caught up with the real world and road cars!
Where the outgoing V8 developed around 750 horsepower and had a maximum rev rate of 18,000 rpm, the V6 produces approximately 600 hp and is capped at 15,000 rpm. While the output and rpm drop dramatically, that should not mean slower lap times.
The other key change is the amount of fuel. This year the cars will be limited to 100-kilograms of fuel, which is around two-thirds of the amount carried last year. On the surface, the combination looks like a disaster in waiting. But, hold on!
In addition to doubling to power of the new Energy Recovery System and increasing the kinetic energy storage by five times, a new heat-based system has been introduced. As before, the ERS system will harvest waste energy under braking and use it to charge a large battery. The new part of ERS is the motor/generator that’s attached to the turbocharger.
Under normal circumstances, the turbo’s energy is wasted when the driver lifts off the gas. ERS connects the turbo to a motor/generator. Now, when the driver lifts, the speed and energy in the spinning turbo (it spins at over 100,000 rpm) is used to drive the generator and capture previously wasted energy. It is stored in the main battery. When the driver gets back on the gas two things happen. First, the generator reverses function and is used as a motor to spin the turbo back to speed, which eliminates all and any sign of turbo lag, and it does so without using fuel to get things cranked to the max. At the same time the ERS side is feeding the power harvested under braking back into the powertrain. These two actions dramatically improve acceleration out of a corner.
The other key changes are found in the amount of power the hybrid side produces and how long it is available to the driver. Last year, the power was limited to 400 Kilojoules — this year, it is 10 times that for a total of four Megajoules. Simply put, that equates to a bigger power boost and it is available for a higher percentage of every lap — the electric assist has been increased from 6.67 seconds to 33 seconds per lap.
More importantly, the ERS delivers twice the power — it jumps from last year’s 80.5 hp to 161 hp. The objective was to produce a powertrain that continues to produce around 750 hp while consuming 30% less fuel in the process.
That, by any measure, was a tall order. If all of this comes to fruition as planned it promises the lap times should remain as fast as ever when the green lights come on to mark the start of a new season at the Australian Grand Prix in March.
Perhaps a bigger challenge was developing the right fuel to work with the new engine — turbocharged engines have much higher internal pressures and they run hotter, which promotes detonation (pinging) if the fuel is not up to snuff. As Mike Evans, Shell Formula One Fuels Project Leader, explained, this called for a wholesale change in the composition of the fuel Ferrari will run in its new turbocharged engine. Over 50 different blends were tested to arrive at the right one for racing.
Shell was brought in to assist Ferrari during the development of its engine right at the beginning, in 2011. One of the problems is adapting the fuel to the engine when the two are developed separately — by developing the two simultaneously maximizes the efficiency and the potency of the engine.
Another of the key issues was increasing the energy density of the fuel. When the energy density is increased, it means less fuel will go further. In coming years, the amount of fuel allowed on-board an F1 car for the race is going to decrease, which makes this aspect even more important. Evans says that the fuel Ferrari will use is ready to address this situation.
The advances in both the engine and fuel technologies being developed for the racing world will trickle down to the road, which is a very important step in the right direction given the growing number of turbocharged engines available today and the push for ever more efficient cars. Evans says the work done by his team at Shell in developing the right fuel for Ferrari will end up in your gas tank. That is even better news.