Contents

F1 Track Design and Safety .................................................................................................................... 2

Circuit and Safety Analysis System (CSAS) ........................................................................................ 2
Head And Neck Support (HANS) ........................................................................................................... 3
HEMI Engines ........................................................................................................................................ 4
HEMI design ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Aerodynamics ......................................................................................................................................... 6
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F1 Track Design and Safety

Success is all about being in the right place at the right time ….. and the axiom is a
guiding principle for designers of motorsport circuits. To avoid problems you need
know where and when things are likely to go wrong before cars turn a wheel -and
anticipating accidents is a science.

Take barriers, for example .there is little point erecting them in the wrong place -but
predicting the right place is a black art. The FIA has developed bespoke software, the
Circuit and Safety Analysis System (CSAS), to predict problemareas on F1 circuits.

Where and when cars leave circuits is due to the complex interaction between their
design, the driver's reaction and the specific configuration of the track, and the CSAS
allows the input of many variables-lap speeds ,engine power curves, car weight
changes, aerodynamic characteristics etc. -to predict how cars may leave the circuit at
particular places. The variables are complex. The impact point of a car continuing in a
straight line at a corner is easy to predict, but if the driver has any remaining control
and alters the car's trajectory, or if a mechanical fault introduces fresh variables, its
final destination is tricky to model.

Modern tyre barriers are built of road tyres with plastic tubes sandwiched between
them. The side facing the track is covered with conveyor belting to prevent wheels
becoming snagged and distorting the barrier. The whole provides a deformable
'cushion' a principle that has found its way to civilian roads. Barriers made of air filled
cells, currently under investigation may be the final answer. Another important safety
factor is the road surface. Racing circuits are at the cutting edge of surface technology,
experimenting with new materials for optimum performance.

Circuit and Safety Analysis System (CSAS)

Predicting the trajectory and velocity of a racing car when it is driven at the limit
within the confines of a racing track, is now the subject of a great deal of analytical
work by almost all teams involved in racing at all levels. However, predicting the
trajectory and velocity of a car once the driver has lost control of it has not been
something the teams have devoted a great deal of time to. This can now also be
analyzed though in the same sort of detail, to assess the safety features of the circuits
on which it is raced. The two tasks are very different, and the FIA had to start almost
from scratch when it set out to develop software for its Circuit and Safety Analysis
System (CSAS).

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The last two decades have seen a steady build up of the R&D effort going into vehicle
dynamics modeling, particularly by those teams that design and develop cars as well
as race them. The pace of development has been set by the availability of powerful
PC's, the generation of vehicle and component data, and the supply of suitably
qualified graduates to carry out the work. Their task is to be able to model and predict
the effects of every nuance of aerodynamic, tire, engine, damper etc., characteristic on
the speed of their car at every point on a given circuit. The detail in the model will
only be limited by available dynamic characteristics and track data, and will require a
driver model to complete the picture. However, they are only interested in the
performance of the car while the tires are in contact with the tarmac, and the driver is
operating them at or below their peaks.

Head And Neck Support (HANS)

Only recently has the racing industry acknowledged that the number one cause of
racing-related fatalities is basilar skull fractures from excessive head motions and
neck loading. Racing legend Dale Earnhardt's death proved to the racing world and
the general public that what appears to be a low impact crash can be fatal. Under
development and extensively tested for over a decade, there is a device that can reduce
the risk of serious injury or even death to the driver in such a crash. It is the Head And
Neck Support (HANS) device.

The HANS, head and neck support was invented by Dr. Robert Hubbard, a
biomechanical engineering Professor at Michigan State University. Many debilitating
or fatal head and neck injuries could be prevented using this system. In 2000, compact
versions of HANS (Figure 2) were developed for CART, IRL, F1, NASCAR, NHRA,
ASA, Sports cars, Power Boating and many other racing series.

Extensive testing has proven that HANS consistently reduces the injury potential from
head motions and neck loads.

The latest example of the engineers' efforts to make Grand Prix racing as safe as
possible is the new Head And Neck Support (HANS). The system is easy to use and
extremely effective. It prevents over-extension of the driver's neck region in the event
of extreme deceleration. It is designed to 'complete' driver head protection, covering
the one aspect to be still exposed.

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Forward movement of the head and neck has, until now, been the only unrestrained
area in driver impact safety. Extensive research and testing has resulted in what
experts now believe to be a practical solution to the issue.

HANS features a carbon fibre collar connected securely to the upper body, with straps
attaching it to the helmet. The four main parts of the system are:

1. Support brace- rests on shoulders.

2. Padding- is 'fine tuned' for both comfort and fit.

3. Tethers-high strength Nomex tethers secure helmet to support brace.

4. Anchoring- complete system is secured by standard 75mm shoulder straps.

The fundamental purpose of the system is to effectively form a single 'body' of the
head and torso.

By purposely directing the loads experienced following impact, the driver's helmet is
able to assist in dissipating the loads. HANS is intended to prevent driver's head from
being thrown forward in an accident, a common 'whiplash' situation which could lead
to an over extension of the spinal column.

HEMI Engines

Engines are the major components of any automobile. A user of an automobile wants
to get maximum power output from the engine, at the same time, not sacrificing fuel
efficiency. The design of an engine is very important. One of the most important parts
of engine design is the design of the combustion chamber. Different types of
combustion chamber heads are being used at present.

One type of chamber head is the hemispherical head. The hemispherical head design
enables the user to extract more power from the engine. The engines using
hemispherical heads are known as HEMI engines. Modern HEMI engines are using
various developments that have come up in the recent past. This has enabled these
engines toprovide the user with additional advantages apart from serving its major
purpose, i.e., supplying more power.

Engine is the basic component of any automobile. Combustion engines may be

divided into two general classes - internal combustion engines and external
combustion engines. In the external combustion engines, a working fluid is utilized to
transfer some of the heat of combustion to that portion of the engine wherein this heat
is transformed into mechanical energy.
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The internal combustion engine inducts air from the atmosphere and the combustion
of fuel and air occurs in or near that portion of the engine, which converts heat to
mechanical energy. Internal combustion engines may be further classified into
reciprocating engines and non-reciprocating engines. Internal combustion engines
may also be divided as spark ignition engines and compression ignition engines.

Spark ignition engines may work in a two-stroke cycle or a four-stroke cycle. The four
strokes involved are

1) Intake stroke

2) Compression stroke

3) Power stroke

4) Exhaust stroke

Any two strokes of a four-stroke engine will be coupled in a two-stroke engine.

The HEMI engine is a four stroke, spark ignition, reciprocating type, internal
combustion engine.

The design of the combustion chamber for a spark ignition engine has an important
influence on the engine performance and its knocking characteristics. The design
involves the shape of the combustion chamber, the location of the spark plug, and the
location of the inlet and exhaust valves. The important requirements of a spark
ignition engine combustion chamber are to provide higher power output with
minimum octane requirement, high thermal efficiency and smooth engine operation.

HEMI design
The HEMI engine was first developed in
1951 by the Chrysler Corporation. The
advantage of HEMI engine over other
engines of the time was that it produced more
power. The reason for this was the efficiency
of the combustion chamber.

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Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics can be used to control the handling of a car in high-speed corners

(greater than approximately 60 mph). Aerodynamic components push down on the
car, or create downforce, which helps the tires maintain better traction. The two main
aerodynamic upgrades are front bumpers and rear wings. While these two components
can increase cornering speeds when installed on your car, they will also increase drag
and limit your top speed.

Aerodynamic components should only be used to tune high speed cornering

characteristics. They will have little or no effect on low-speed handling. Additionally,
aerodynamics should be relied upon to increase the overall grip of your car. It should
not be used to correct severe understeer or oversteer. Try to rely upon mechanical
suspension tuning to control understeer/oversteer. Only turn to aerodynamics as a last
resort. This is because aerodynamic grip cannot always be relied upon in a racing
situation. For instance, if you are closely following another car, there will be less air
flowing over your car because the car in front is breaking through the air for you. The
reduced airflow (and therefore downforce) on your car will cause you to lose grip. If
you rely heavily on aerodynamics to improve handling, your car will become difficult
to drive when you are in close proximity with other cars.

Aerodynamic components work by deflecting air in a way to create a downward force

on the car. Air hits the car at an angle, which pushes the car into the ground. At the
same time, the air gets deflected up and over the car. Aggressively sloped front
bumpers and large wings will generally create more downforce than small wings and
mild front bumpers.

Usually, it is not possible to adjust the amount of front downforce without changing
your front bumper. However, wings often have inserts and angle adjustments that can
be used to change rear downforce. By increasing wing angle or adding wing inserts,
you increase downforce on the rear of the car. This pushes the rear wheels more firmly
into the ground and prevents them from slipping. Oversteer can be corrected in this
way. If your car understeers in high-speed corners, you can reduce the angle of the
wing or take out wing inserts to reduce rear downforce and correct the understeer.
Keep in mind that adding downforce will help you increase your cornering speeds but
will lower your top speed due to the extra drag. Still, you will usually want to
maximize the downforce because the majority of road courses do not have very long
straights. On a track with long straights, reducing downforce (and therefore drag) may
improve your lap times.

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