1 Running Head: The Uses of Carbon Fiber on Formula One Race Cars and Their Strategic Advantage in Racing

The Uses of Carbon Fiber on Formula One Race Cars and Their Strategic Advantage in Racing Drew Shealy Chapin High School

Carbon Fiber in Formula One The Uses of Carbon Fiber on Formula One Race Cars and Their Strategic Advantage in Racing The sources used in this research provide information on the uses of carbon-fiber in Formula One racing. These sources also provide an overview on the sport and how the creation of carbonfiber has greatly affected the way people build and race cars today. Also there is information on how F1 teams actually create their chassis, monocoques, and body parts out of carbon-fiber. Chandra, S., Fassmann, W., Ruoti, C., Stubbs, K., Jensen, G., C, & Bala, S. (2011). Crash Simulation of PACE Formula-1 Race Car. Computer Aided Design and Applications. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from http://www.cadanda.com/CAD_PACE_1__31-46.pdf This paper shows the results of a crash test of a Formula One car nose piece. It also explains the uses of carbon-fiber in the creation of nose pieces. The test that was ran was the same test given to F1 teams by the FIA, the ruling body of Formula One, and shows that the test results were positive in the fact that the nose piece would have successfully prevented a major accident during a crash. This test also shows how the carbon-fiber nose pieces deforms on impact to lower the amount of kinetic energy acting on the drivers body. This paper was very helpful because it fully explained how the shape and building of the carbon-fiber nose piece prevents major accidents. Heimbs, S., Strobl, F., Middendorf, P., Gardner, S., Eddington, B., & Key, J. (2008). Crash Simulation of an F1 Racing Car Front Impact Structure. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from http://www.heimbs-online.de/Heimbs_2009_Formula1Crash.pdf This paper shows how the Force India F1 Team creates and designs their front noises to protect their drivers in crashes. In this paper they show how they stack carbon-fiber sandwiches in order to create a stronger material that is also lightweight and safe. This paper also shows the how the carbon-fiber nose deforms whenever impacted. It shows

Carbon Fiber in Formula One that the carbon-fiber noise piece deforms into a sort-of safety bubble for the driver so that he doesn't feel much of the impact and so he can walk away from the car safely. This article was very helpful because it shows how F1 teams make their carbon-fiber body parts stronger and how they cause them to deform on impact. Reddy, J., J, & Gupta, M. (2006, August 23). Finding the Optimum Angle of Attack for the Front Wing of an F1 Car using CFD. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from http://www.wseas.us/elibrary/conferences/2006elounda2/papers/538-154.pdf This paper gives a very deep overview on how to find the optimum angle of attack for an F1 front wing. In this paper, the authors provide many equations on how F1 engineers craft the front wings of the car and how these measurements affect aerodynamics. Also the paper shows how the use of the computer program CFD can help create the front wings by applying the equations provided in the paper. Also it shows how CFD can calculate the correct angle and how the front wing will work aerodynamically. This article wasn't too helpful because I was looking for information on how carbon-fiber is used in F1 cars, but this article just gave an example on how to create the right angle for the front wing of an F1 car. Savage, G. (2008, July). Composite Materials Technology in Formula One Motor Racing. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from http://f1-forecast.com/pdf/F1-Forecast-Tech-1.pdf This paper provides an overview on how composite materials have been used in Formula One racing. In it explains many of the various uses of composite materials. This includes, the production of body parts, chassis, and monocoques. It also explains the strategic advantage that these materials provide in racing such as making cars light weight while maintaining to very strict safety regulations. This paper was very

Carbon Fiber in Formula One insightful because it gave a great overview into the many processes that F1 teams go through to create their cars using composite materials. Young, S. (2012). Formula One Racing: Driver vs. Technology. Intersect, Vol. 5. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from http://ojs.stanford.edu/ojs/index.php/intersect/article/download/349/165 This paper provides an overview of Formula One Racing as a whole. It includes a timeline on the evolution of technology and how this new technology has influenced racing and the automotive industry as a whole. This includes the new uses of materials and how the whole aspect of racing was changed with the introduction of lightweight, composite materials, such as carbon-fiber. This paper also shows how even though some new technologies made driving easier, they were rejected in racing because F1 racing is not only about new technology, but the drivers themselves. This then causes the FIA to have two different F1 championships, the Drivers Championship, for the best driver, and the Constructors Championship, for the best car manufacturer. This article was helpful in the fact that it shows how the uses of carbon-fiber completely changed the way people raced.