No I am not going to be writing about the UK mobile phone operator! I am turning my attention to the R1 engine breathing requirements. A number of BECs (Bike Engine Cars) use sausage filters, socks or unfiltered trumpets. Sticking with my theory that I probably can't design things better than Yamaha manged and the fact that the engine would of used an airbox whilst in the bike, I thought I would stick with the same idea and use an airbox. Using an airbox will have the added benefit of reducing the induction noise and it will allow me to direct cool air into the throttle bodies rather than picking up warm air from the engine bay. The question is what sort of airbox, what size and what size airduct ? Airbox Design - The Theory Time for some googling. I found a number of useful forum posts and links to some interesting reads. If you want a really detailed analysis on airbox design and fluid dynamics give this a go Airbox Design v1 Resonance and Airbox Design v2 pressure This link Resonant Air boxes - Theory & Application in also provides an insightful look at motorbike airbox characteristics and their effect on noise and power. I won't pretend I understand that much of what those article talk about but one key thing I did pickup was this quote : A modern engine with valve overlap will naturally have a dip in the torque at about a third to a half the red line rpm. If the air box is tuned to have minimum resistance to air flow at this rpm, the dip in the torque curve will be partially filled in by the ease of pulling air into the engine. This tells me that the air box is functional in both reducing or controlling noise output as well as potentially assisting power throughout the rev range so perhaps best I use one. Another worthwhile read is formula1-dictionary explanation of airboxes. It explains the effects of Ram Air charging, intake design. It also mentions carbon fibre as a good material choice due to it's heat handling capabilities. Airbox Shape The overall shape of my custom airbox is somewhat going to be dictated by the available space in the Mini engine bay and the location of surrounding components e.g. brake servo. I also want to reuse the K&N panel filter that was supplied with the engine so that will determine the overall width/height although, I can tweak it a little by angling the filter. I have saved a collection of images of designs I like R1 Air Duct Size CalculationMost of my research has revealed more detail around air intake design considerations than the airbox itself. The first two links I posted above "Airbox Design v1 & v2" go into a lot of detail of how intake size and shape significantly affects engine performance. So how do we determine the correct size air intake to use ? The following quote was taken from a website that I failed to grab the link from; Yes, the usual equation is D=(CIDxVExRPM)/(IVx1130). Assuming very good preparation for your engine, that works out to: So applying this to the R1 engine gives me; D=(CIDxVExRPM)/(IVx1130) D = (61.0237 * 0.85 * 11500) / 203,400 = 2.933in (74.50mm) This tells me a 75mm minimum intake size should be used. I will probably use a 100mm if engine bay space permits. ConclusionsSo what does all of the above tell me. Well I don't know a lot about fluid dynamics and I should have paid more attention at school !
What I have picked up along the way are these key things; - An airbox should be as large as possible. 10-20x engine capacity - More free air space between throttle bodies intake stacks and filter the better - Use a free flowing oil based air filter where possible - Construct from materials that reflect heat. - The intake airduct should source 100% or as close to 100% of it's air from ambient air outside the car. - The intake ideally should route to the front of vehicle rather than side exit - The intake should be a short as possible. - Adding a 90 degree bend to the intake is the equivalent of adding 48 inches in length to a 3 inch diameter tube and 64 inches to a 4 inch. In summary, I have found more information pertaining to the importance of the intake design than the airbox design but the general rule of thumb is larger the better. I also believe the use of exposed filters, socks etc.. could be detrimental to engine performance so an airbox is the way forward for me.
2 Comments
R
10/10/2016 05:49:46 am
All very cOOL. I'm going through [all] your build segments, no matter the subject. They are all interesting. i.e. You have a wide range of talents. Keep it up! Thanks for sharing. R, So. Calif USA
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Luke Hurst
10/10/2016 07:13:01 am
Again, thanks for your comments. I will add a caveat that I am no expert so copy/use at your own risk :-)
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