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Motorsport
Mercedes W15 racing car . Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale .
What is a water / air intercooler ?
Also known as a liquid-toair intercooler , this form of heat exchanger is more complex than air-to-air formats but highly efficient and increasingly popular in motorsport . Cool air enters the turbocharger which is then compressed and heated ; the hot air is passed through to the intercooler which rapidly cools it before entering the engine . At the same time , a hot coolant also circulates through the intercooler and then to the radiator which sends cold coolant back to the intercooler to assist further cooling .
Ferrari SF-24 : continuity with last year In Maranello they decided not to implement major changes from the SF-23 . However , some upgrades were still visible . In fact , the radiators now have a Red Bullinspired curved geometry . The intercooler on the SF-24 is in a completely different position than seen on the RB20 . Ferrari has indeed chosen to take advantage of the shaping of the chassis to place the intercooler in front of the power unit . Red Bull seems to have dared a bit more in their choices but that does not automatically mean they are better . The SF-24 seems to focus more on reliability .
Mercedes W15 : goodbye to all past solutions The German team has decided to abandon all the concepts of the last two cars , which is also reflected in the position of the radiating masses . As a result , Mercedes has taken a step back , returning to a standard placement . The W15 appears to be , among the top F1 teams , the most “ classic ” in radiator area . Mercedes engineers have worked to seek maximum cleanliness under the sidepod . Many times , simplicity pays off more than complex solutions like those seen on the W13 and W14 .
McLaren MCL38 , daring to try to close the gap with Red Bull The British team wanted to distinguish itself from others , starting from the sidepods ’ inlet . The MCL38 is the only car with a small entry section that is not horizontally developed . McLaren ’ s idea is to create a much wider undercut to have more flow towards the floor . This choice forced to raise the position of the water and oil radiators , slightly compromising the car ’ s center of gravity . The central radiator is still positioned on the power unit . In conclusion , there is no clear technical convergence . As we have seen , each single-seater has its own outstanding
McLaren MCL38 racing car . Photo by Jacopo Moretti for F1inGenerale .
solutions . Certainly , there are teams who have tried to innovate more but only the track will give the verdict on performance .
About the author
Matteo Beretta is an Italian engineer with a master degree in Aeronautical Engineering . Currently , he works as a CAE engineer in the automotive industry . Matteo has been writing technical articles and news for f1ingenerale . com since 2022 . He has also been accredited to different categories such as F1 , WEC and GTWC . www . heat-exchanger-world . com Heat Exchanger World April 2024
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