Materials at 200 mph: Making NASCAR Faster and Safer
- PDF / 621,106 Bytes
- 6 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 7 Downloads / 197 Views
200 mph: Making NASCAR Faster and Safer Diandra Leslie-Pelecky
The following article is based on the Symposium X: Frontiers of Materials Research presentation given by Diandra Leslie-Pelecky of the University of Texas at Dallas. The presentation was delivered on December 1, 2008 at the Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston.
Abstract Speed is the ultimate goal of racing, and materials are an increasingly important area of research for making race cars faster. The splitter, which produces front downforce, is made from Tegris, a polypropylene composite offering comparable stiffness and improved impact properties at significantly lower cost than alternative materials. Engine blocks must be cast iron, but careful control of microstructure using precision manufacturing methods produces a lighter engine block that generates more horsepower. Speed and excitement must be balanced with safety, and materials are key players here, as well. Energy-dissipating foams in the car and the barriers surrounding the tracks allow drivers to walk away uninjured from accidents. Fire-resistant polymers protect drivers from high-temperature fuel fires, and technology transfer from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in the form of a low-temperature carbon monoxide catalyst filters the drivers’ air. Sports are an outstanding way of showing the public how materials science and engineering are relevant to their lives and interests. Materials science and engineering is just that much more exciting when it’s traveling at two hundred miles an hour.
or carbon-fiber composites would provide better strength-to-weight ratios; however, the higher cost led NASCAR to limit chassis materials to “magnetic steel.” Each finished chassis is inspected at the NASCAR R&D Center using digitizing arms and then certified with 10 strategically placed radio frequency identification tags that are used to confirm the chassis identification at the racetrack. The car’s body is surprisingly thin, with a minimum thickness of 24 gauge (about a half millimeter). The roof, hood, and decklid (trunk) are stamped, but the rest of the car is shaped by hand using an English wheel, a metalworking tool that resembles two rolling pins, one on top of the other. Sheet metal is compressed between the two wheels, forming the body panels. Drawing quality aluminum killed (DQAK) steel provides the formability necessary for the intricate curves. A giant template grid fits over the car to check that the body conforms to NASCAR rules. Cars are painted or (more and more frequently) “wrapped.” Wrapping is essentially wallpapering a car with a polymer film onto which a design has been printed. A grid of micron-scale holes allow air to escape from under the plastic as it is applied to the car.
Materials for Speed Splitting the Air A car’s grip is proportional to the force pushing its tires into the track. That force comes from the car’s weight plus aerodynamic forces, the latter of which scale with
Data Loading...
