composite air intake

[jagato00]

Is there any special reason to make air intake duct with carbon composite?
In the case of McLarenF1, there are huge air intake duct in front of the wheel housing. I think it doesn't need to be made with carbon composite because it doesn't support external load.
As seeing the air intake duct passing through the roof and reaching intake manifold, does it need to be made with composite?
how about other reinforced plastics such as glass/epoxy composite?

I think carbon composite is advantageous to insulate external heat because the thermal conductivity in thickness direction is so low.
Is this main objective of composite material for air duct?

[maartenvanthek]

weight saving, and just the idea of having the lightest strongest possible material. just proper engineering

[jagato00]

I meaned why they used the very carbon composite rather than other light weight plastics.
As you know, carbon composite is very expensive material. Actually, money may not be problem for them. If it is just for weight saving, is it a waste of money?

[freakray]

Weight saving and strength, also thermal conductivity.
The brake cooling ducts as well as engine intake are subjected to rapid temperature changes.

BTW, if you're paying close to $1,000,000 for a car, wouldn't you want it to be the best possible construction?

[jagato00]

Yeah...You're right...
the best answer must be 'For the best performance'...

[maartenvanthek]

probably because of all the carbon composites it is the strongest, i don't think it is for temperature reasons because all woven fibers are bonded with resin, so it's not the fiber but the resin that has a problem with heat.

[jcsaleen]

Carbon fiber is also stronger then an alooy there for better in the front for crash reg's + lighter. C.F is a mesh there fore it obsorbs impacts rather then clashing head on and cracking.

[maartenvanthek]

it's not so much about absorbing the crash impact, because those air in takes aren't thicker than say 2-3 layers, which is easily broken in the lightest crash.

[zx4000]

Originally Posted by maartenvanthek

it's not so much about absorbing the crash impact, because those air in takes aren't thicker than say 2-3 layers, which is easily broken in the lightest crash.

No offence, but easily broken than what? you see this is the strongest one than steel or any other material like diamond. Usually when F1 was built, 10 layers used to chassis. so even if two layers, it get strength more 3times stronger, 4 times lighter than other similar category. Recently Koenigsegg used 21 layers for chassis especially aluminium honeycomb sandwithed in two layers to get more stronger with in aspects of absorbing impact, you see carbon fibre is not elastic that's why that is used for. At this point, i wonder how the von koenig.(exactly technicians team) could lighten the weight utilizing so much layers? that's know-how. so i figure that, as to chassis technology, Koenigsegg has been more advanced better than our hero Mclaren F1.
But this is natural because F1 had been made 10 years ago from now.

[maartenvanthek]

more easily than a purpose build crash absorbing system. it might be strong, but a car, in total weighing 1400 kg+, driving in on something with 20 km/h has so much energy, that an air intake is not capable of absorbing it properly

[jcsaleen]

Carbon fiber is a mesh very loose yet tight too. Its like hurling a lacrosse ball at a blanket the blanket will obsorb the energy and stop it. If you were to use aluminum then it would be like using a peice of hard plastic. If you throw the ball at it , it will probly break,crack or shatter rather then bounce back instead of the most important factor obsorb the energy. So if you where in a crash you would rather use something that will mantain its strength rather then break,crack or shatter cause of its brittleness and wont obsorb the blow.

[mini magic]

there is no way carbon fiber would be like a blanket. It would shatter. I bought a piece of carbon fiber off ebay for a mclaren model thing i had in mind. I started playing around with it and it just cracks. It is nowhere near as "absorbant" as you make it out to be.

[jcsaleen]

Originally Posted by mini magic

there is no way carbon fiber would be like a blanket. It would shatter. I bought a piece of carbon fiber off ebay for a mclaren model thing i had in mind. I started playing around with it and it just cracks. It is nowhere near as "absorbant" as you make it out to be.

Carbon Fiber is a meh there fore it will obsorb 2-5x better then a hard brittle material. & I never said it was a blanket Im jus making an Ex.

[amanichen]

Originally Posted by jcsaleen

Carbon Fiber is a meh there fore it will obsorb 2-5x better then a hard brittle material. & I never said it was a blanket Im jus making an Ex.

Carbon fiber IS brittle. If you want to design something that withstands collisions, try a block of steel jacketed with kevlar.

Usually you want a ductile material (one that deforms slightly, rather than shattering) for impact absorption, because the material stays together as a cohesive piece, meaning you have more interatomic bonds to break, which means more energy gets absorbed by the sacrificial material, and not something else. Brittle materials shatter, and do not stay as cohesive pieces.

Again the strength of an individual piece will depend on how many layers of fiber you have, how they are oriented, and what type of geometry your part has. The advantage to using carbon fiber is not impact absorption, but rather high strength with minimal weight.

[jcsaleen]

Have you seen Mclaren Slr that got hit?? That car barly sustained anydamage cuz it obsorbed the blow. That is also why steve saleen used it to build the S7. He states that about the C.F in the interview.