#8 Changing with Time

Things can change very quickly and if we remain in our origin all the time, we may not improve as the others

     Imagine. A bowl of noodles costs a few bucks a decade ago, but the price for the same item today has doubled up or even more than that! Not to mention the price of that bowl of noodles in my parents’ time, it has skyrocketed after dozens of years.

People in the past would satisfy and consider themselves lucky enough if they own a typical road car but we just feel only a luxury car makes us look good today. As a matter of fact, the single element that holds the key to a different environment we lived in today lies within the word – change.

I was clueless with how fast things have changed until I looked back at my childhood photos on one particular day. In fact, it does wonder that how fast time has sneaked without us realizing it.

Many of us would consider every day is just an ordinary day but if you put a tick at the start of the month on the calendar, and, look at it again after some time, you will notice how fast the time has passed indeed. 

Notwithstanding, just as everything around us are changing all the time, are we doing the same for good or stay firm with our way-old life principles? In the construction industry, doing manual and hand calculations was a must for every engineer in designing a project. 

The tide has changed today as engineers are equipped with state-of-the-art software combining the effective spreadsheets to enable them to key in the databases. For engineers who are familiar and used to the traditional methods, they must find a fix to it in order to adapt themselves to the new programs.

Indeed, it is worth realizing that we need to keep ourselves abreast with the latest happenings around us and take the necessary approach to change our way of working or behavior if we want a better outcome of our job – all the time – in whatever endeavor.

One of the differences between the parents of today and the past is the way they treat their children. Parents in the past do not pamper their kids too much and the kids would be caned if they are caught behaving inappropriately. Parents that we see today do not set de rigueur standards at their home and realize the current generation of young people are immune from punishment.

Similarly, in a relationship, our partner is constantly hoping for us to change for the better – with time. For example, if we are bad-tempered, egotistic and inconsiderate, definitely our partner wants us to get rid of our bad traits. We cannot always expect the people next to us to tolerate with our brash attitudes if we desire a harmonious relationship with them, for sure.

There is one golden rule when it comes to dealing with daily problems and if we cannot fully prioritize that practice, regardless of how good we are: We are not perfect. It is never about the people around us and it is always about how we make changes to ourselves to influence effectively. 

By: Vincent Ti

#7 Understanding 2014 Formula One TM Engines – Technical Specifications and Configuration

     I started to watch Formula One since 2007 and my passion for the sport has grown increasingly fond ever since. With so many technical changes and sophisticated tweaks to the entire grid that take place this year, one of the most eye-catching and sporting designs lies within the turbo’s installation in the Mercedes ‘power unit’ that effectively makes the German marque so dominant in the first few races of the season.

     In 2014, Formula One no longer use the V8 2.4 litres engines as what we have seen in previous years, the sport has replaced it with the all-new V6 1.6 litres turbo direct injection engines. In fact, it is referred as the V6 ‘power unit’ instead of the term ‘engine’ that we usually used. The reason is because the engine configuration in the car is no longer consist of a pure engine to run and fire up the entire vehicle but comprises six separates single elements that we classify them as the;

ü  Engine

ü  Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K)

ü  Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H)

ü  Energy Storage (ES)

ü  Turbocharger

ü  Control Electronics (CE)

     In the new turbo era, not only the reliability and driveability of the car is the concerns, having a car with the most efficient energy management and horsepower is equally important. In order to boost more horsepower to the car, the turbocharger and intercooler (which cools down the turbo) will play a significant part. The turbo in the power unit basically consists of two parts – the turbine (hotter side) and compressor (cooler side). Therefore, it is up to how the engine manufacturer alter changes and install the turbo within the power unit that makes it thick. We take a brief look at how the three engine manufacturers – Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault – in the grid fared in terms of their respective turbos configuration as well as their resultant performance.

Mercedes

With different component installations on Mercedes’, Ferrari’s and Renault’s power units, we can easily differentiate the three engine manufacturers’ fundamental concepts.

Mercedes have split their turbo into two parts in their turbo configuration. As we can see from the picture above, the compressor, the blue part of the turbo (left), is separated from the turbine, the red part of the turbo (right). At the same time, we can see the MGU-H, which harvests waste heat energy, fixed to the compressor and mounted in a ‘V’ between the two parts of the turbo.

a)      Advantages

Since the hot and cool parts of the turbo are being separated, we know that the heat transfers between the components are minimized. To pump more power to the engine, we need to keep the air in the compressor (that draws air in) as cool as possible. When the heat transfers within the two turbo elements are minimized, more power is able to be extracted for the engine.

Moreover, the intercooler will have lesser workload (perhaps a smaller intercooler is adapted) for cooling demand in the turbo. A smaller intercooler used will have the benefit of a better and tighter packaging of the car, making it more aerodynamic-wise. As the turbo compressor is placed directly in front of the engine, there is more room to move their transmission closer to the center of gravity, another considerable advantage.

If that is not enough, the MGU-H mounted in between the two turbo components act to make the whole unit more efficient. As the MGU-H now has the privilege to drive the compressor, the turbo gains more electrical power before feeding it to the MGU-K located at the bottom of the engine. Now, the compressor is able to deliver more, thus reducing turbo lag and increasing power.

b)      Disadvantages

There is no drawback in the designs because basically the heat transfers between the turbo components are reduced, the car is able to have a better aerodynamic package and so on.

Ferrari

I remembered I read something like;

‘Mercedes have a reportedly 80hp more than their rivals engines’

That means Ferrari and Renault may trail the Brackley-based team in terms of power delivery. Nevertheless, the Ferrari’s turbo configuration is somehow slightly identical to the Mercedes’ installations. But it is not known whether the MGU-H is mounted in a ‘V’ as we seen in the Mercedes’ because I could not find much information about that in the Internet.

Anyway, Ferrari are reportedly placing their MGU-H in between their two turbo components like we see in the Mercedes’ case, but the MGU-H is not attached directly to the compressor, instead,  it is mounted somewhere along a duct between the two turbo components. Perhaps related to problems like cooling or fixation hindrance that the MGU-H could not be attached directly to the compressor.

Renault

If we compare Renault’s and Mercedes’ power units turbo component installations, it is notable the arrangement of their concepts are different. Basically to introduce more power to the engine, the more the cool air is, the better it is. Renault have the compressor and turbine bolted together in their set-ups. This means there is heat transfers between the two parts. As a result, a larger intercooler is needed to maintain the optimum temperature of the charged air flowing into the engine.

Next, when the MGU-H is mounted to the compressors, we can see both turbo components are driven simultaneously with a central duct driving through it. (Whereas Mercedes’ solution offers the possibility of driving the two turbo elements independently)

By: Vincent Ti