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High-performance automobiles require seals that must face even more rigorous constraints and provide reliable performance in operating environments where standard seal designs would fail. In this blog post, we’ll review the various categories of seals used in automotive applications, discuss how high-performance automotive seals differ, and what sealing solutions are currently being used.

Automotive Seal Categories

Seals can be used for multiple purposes with the primary ones being the exclusion of contaminants, reduction of friction, leak prevention, and the containment of pressure. That said, there are several different categories of general automotive seals that also apply to high-performance automobiles.

Driveline seals are key to a smooth, reliable transmission and not only aid in reducing power losses but help to better optimize fuel consumption. In addition, driveline seals are critical to the overall performance of the transmission system. As a category of seals, they include axial seals, transmission seals, and bonded pistons.

While comfort is not typically a major concern for high-performance automobile drivers, braking capacity and the ability for the vehicle to hold the road certainly are–making high quality, reliable suspension seals essential to both safety and control in racing environments.

Keeping the oil or grease lubricant contained and uncontaminated in wheel bearings reduces friction and power losses. That happens to be the job of wheel-end seals, which must be able to withstand a wide range of temperatures and exposure to some extreme conditions, whether on a paved race track or in off-road competition. 

Engines seals include those for camshafts, crankshafts, valve stems, and auxiliary shafts. There are also seals required for spark plugs, valve stems, and injector tubes are well. Engine seals need to be extremely low friction to minimize power loss and provide the ability to integrate with sensors to track engine performance. Needless to say, the materials need to be rugged enough to withstand the heat and be compatible with all media involved, including fuel additives that can damage materials.

The purpose of bearing seals is to keep the lubrication in and contaminants out of the critical bearings in a vehicle. Because the bearing seals contribute to reducing friction, they also reduce power losses. If a bearing seal gives out during a race, it will result in serious power loss and one failure after another as related systems are impacted.

Sealing Challenges in Performance Motorsports

While there are challenges in the specification of seals for any automobile, the challenges are more complex and constraints far more stringent in the design of high-performance automobiles. When the ability to shave off a fraction of a second could make or break a successfully competitive design, weight becomes a major factor: every ounce counts when trying to maximize speed and minimize losses for Indy Car, Formula 1, NASCAR, Rally, and CART vehicles.

Reliability is extremely critical for racing: when a car is moving at extreme speeds, small problems can lead to massive disasters and potential death. And reliability is just as vital for endurance and off-road races where the ability to survive in rough conditions is part of the competition.

When vehicles are moving at the extremely high speeds involved in racing, everything becomes more intense and that includes vibrations and shock loadings. And for off-road competitions, the impact loadings are even more intense. Racing seals must be able to also retain their ability to exclude contaminants and retain media (whether its fuel or lubricant) even in the presence of these extreme loads.

Dynamic seals must also be able to handle continuously higher speeds than an average automotive seal, which can make the choice of materials even more challenging. The coefficient of friction and ability to dry lubricate (as is seen with materials such as PEEK and PTFE) becomes even more important. There are also extremes in both pressures in temperature that require seals with dimensional stability, often requiring spring-energized or labyrinth seals.

Chemical inertness is also vital, especially as some newer fuel additives for racing cars have proven incompatible with rubber hoses. Materials like PTFE and PEEK are chemically inert, but it is very important to check material compatibility before moving forward with a seal design.

Another challenge faced when designing seals for high-performance automobiles lies in available space: to keep weight down and ensure that the vehicle is aerodynamic, compact sealing solutions that take up a minimal amount of space are required. 

Solutions for High-Performance Automotive Seals

When designing seals for high-performance automotive applications, advanced polymer seals should be seriously considered. Polymer seals weigh a fraction of their metal counterparts and less than elastomeric seals. They involve far less friction and can be just as rugged and durable as well. Because materials such as PEEK and PTFE are dry-running and self-lubricating, they can sometimes eliminate the need for a bearing. Performance polymers also include additives that enhance the properties of a polymer, increasing its stiffness, impact resistance, and dimensional stability as well as reducing friction. 

Polymers are far less susceptible to corrosion than their metal counterparts and, when the right polymer is chosen, are less susceptible to chemical attack than elastomers. Polymers also lend themselves more readily to manufacturing with complex geometries than metals and offer more freedom as far as manufacturing methods than elastomeric materials. 

Engineering polymers also provide the resistance to wear, strength, and stiffness needed in the rugged environments and demanding operating conditions of racing. And the use of polymer seals as opposed to metal seals reduces problems with metal-to-metal contact such as galling and abrasion. Note, however, that in many instances, the seals required for high-performance automobiles must be custom-made to achieve the necessary level of performance while staying within design constraints. 

Conclusion

The design of high-performance automotive seals can be extremely challenging and many engineers are turning to polymer seals to effectively meet those challenges. Engineering polymers such as PEEK and PTFE, including the variety of grades and fill options available, are an excellent solution to many seal designs.

Last year the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe. It affected many industries, one such industry being the motorsports industry, with events and competitions having been canceled or postponed. But unlike other industries, this has not seemed to stop the motorsports industry, with it continuing to push the boundaries of automotive innovation, and finding new ways to improve upon high-performance vehicles as well as road-ready cars for the average consumer.

It has also provided innovation in the medical field, by developing new life-saving technologies.

And finally, while live races may have been canceled, the industry as looked to simulated races to increase viewership and ad revenue and found a new way to reach out to their fans.

In this week’s blog post, we will discuss the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the motorsports industry, and how despite the hardship the pandemic brought, it refused to slow down and brought innovations, both automotive and medical, surprising uses for technology, and more.

Innovation in Electric Race Cars.

The COVID-19 pandemic has an obviously devastating impact on the automotive industry as a whole, with global light vehicle production declining by 18% during the height of the pandemic, there has been a ray of hope in the form of electric vehicles (or EVs).

And no one has been pushing the envelope further than the motorsports industry.

The sport seems an unlikely source of innovation in cleaner vehicles. But the racetracks and paddocks have often been a hotbed of design and engineering feats.

Formula 1 teams such as DuPont and Renault DP World F1 Team have spent 2020 looking at developments made on the racetrack, such as the modern Energy Recovery System found in Formula 1 cars, and using it to vastly improve upon road-ready, hybrid models that greatly reduce CO2 emissions and offer a fuel economy range of up to 217.3mpg.

Sim Racing

eNascar Racing During COVID-19

Many races were canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many fans disappointed. And the business of motorsports is, at the end of the day, a business of live events. It was a very challenging time for everyone in the industry.

In an experiment, NBC and Fox replaced the canceled races with sim races.

They were unsure if the computer-generated races would bring in as much money as the real races would. Their fears seemed to be unfounded, however, as ten months into the experiment sim races seemed to be paying off, as television and web audiences helped to salvage the 2020 season, pleasing networks and sponsors alike.

One such race was the eNASCAR race which drew in 910,000 viewers, which is admittedly fewer than the typical three million viewers on a typical NASCAR race, it was more than 400,000 of a typical virtual race.

Another race that blew past expectations was the first F1 replacement race, the Virtual Bahrain Grand Prix. It drew in a whopping four million total viewers on both digital platforms and tv, Once again, while that is less than the 34-million strong average for an actual race, it is far ahead of the typical 1.8 million viewers of previous pro digital races.

Project Pitlane

As demands for testing kits and ventilators increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe have reached out to various industries to help with supplies. One such industry was the motorsports industry. And they stepped up to the plate to help ease the burden this deadly pandemic has caused.

Because, if there is one thing that the motorsports industry is famous for, it is designing, building, and testing components and cars in incredibly short timeframes. And that is what they did with Project Pitlane.

At the height of the pandemic, UK-based manufacturers for Formula 1 put aside old rivalries to combine their resources to support health services and victims of COVID-19. This project became known as Project Pitlane.

UCL-Ventura

UCL-Ventura

In connection with the University College London, Mercedes HPP helped develop the UCL-Ventura, a respirator that works by pushing an air-oxygen mix into the mouth and nose at a continuous rate. This keeps both airways open and increases the amount of oxygen entering the patient’s lungs, a huge boon for COVID patients.

They didn’t stop there, however. Mercedes disassembled and reverse-engineered an off-patent device to improve its manufacturability to make it more suitable for higher production runs. In a little over a month, Mercedes had produced 10,000 units.

The UCL-Ventura has now received MHRA regulatory approval and is available to download for free at a research licensing website developed by UCL Business.

Blue Sky

Renault F1 in conjunction with Red Bull Advanced Technologies developed another ventilator, the Blue Sky portable ventilator.

They took the device from a prototype, which included miniature servos from a model aircraft, to a fully developed, certification-ready product.

Unfortunately, the UK government canceled the order for Blue Sky ventilators before the device was able to go through certification.

In Conclusion

Like many industries, the motorsports industry during Covid-19 has had to change dramatically. Unlike other industries, the motorsports industry, is, by it’s very nature, incredibly adaptable. This has served it well, leading to innovations in electric vehicles.

This drive has also led to innovations in the medical industry with the development of new life-saving ventilators, as well as the increased production of ventilators and other life-saving medical necessities.

And finally, let’s not forget the increase in popularity of virtual racing.

The motorsports industry is the pinnacle of automotive innovation, as it demonstrated in 2020. And as we dive further into 2021, it is clear that, like the race cars it produces, it has no signs of slowing down.

To learn more about how Advanced EMC Technologies can provide your motorsports company premium polymer seals, bearings and bushings, contact us today!