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
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