DU incased in the titanium skid plate.

[FLuidd]

How would that affect an F1 car ?
Is it illegal to used it in F1 ?

[sgth0mas]

Do you need that much density there?

[FLuidd]

Do you need that much density there?

Heavier than lead.

I have heard that DU ballast has been used in F1 before , but i am asking how would that influence if it were to be incased in the titanium skid plates.

How would FIA figure out that is not just titanium.

do they do full x.ray scans on the car?

[Edax]

How would that affect an F1 car ?
Is it illegal to used it in F1 ?

Yes it would be illegal. I can imagine F1 having used it as stationary ballast in the 60s-70's. In that period it was used in other fields (eg. aviation), but not later.

I also do not see the benefit of using DU skid plates. You use a skid plate to prevent the plank from being worn down, you don't want the skid plate to wear down as fast. So you are looking for a specific set of properties, mainly hardness, toughness and friction for the wear behavior, and thermal conductivity, thermal capacity and melting point, to control the energy flows associated with rubbing on the road. Weight is a bonus.

When I heard the remark that they were using toxic heavy metals, the first thing which sprang to mind was thoriated tungsten.
Most common heavy metal is tungsten, but it is very brittle and would likely crumble in contact with the road,

Thoriated tungsten has been used for a long period of time for many applications ranging from light bulbs to welding electrodes and was abundantly available. Only a few years ago it became banned (in Europe) under the nuclear act. It has the properties of tungsten but not its brittleness, which could make it an interesting candidate.

[FLuidd]

How would that affect an F1 car ?
Is it illegal to used it in F1 ?

Yes it would be illegal. I can imagine F1 having used it as stationary ballast in the 60s-70's. In that period it was used in other fields (eg. aviation), but not later.

I also do not see the benefit of using DU skid plates. You use a skid plate to prevent the plank from being worn down, you don't want the skid plate to wear down as fast. So you are looking for a specific set of properties, mainly hardness, toughness and friction for the wear behavior, and thermal conductivity, thermal capacity and melting point, to control the energy flows associated with rubbing on the road. Weight is a bonus.

When I heard the remark that they were using toxic heavy metals, the first thing which sprang to mind was thoriated tungsten.
Most common heavy metal is tungsten, but it is very brittle and would likely crumble in contact with the road,

Thoriated tungsten has been used for a long period of time for many applications ranging from light bulbs to welding electrodes and was abundantly available. Only a few years ago it became banned (in Europe) under the nuclear act. It has the properties of tungsten but not its brittleness, which could make it an interesting candidate.

DU INCASED IN TITANIUM , KEY WORK INCASED.

[FrukostScones]

Do you need that much density there?

Heavier than lead.

I have heard that DU ballast has been used in F1 before , but i am asking how would that influence if it were to be incased in the titanium skid plates.

How would FIA figure out that is not just titanium.

do they do full x.ray scans on the car?

by the color of its sparks..

[Just_a_fan]

You would just weigh it to see whether it was titanium or something else. The density of titanium is easy enough to find, even for the FIA...

[sgth0mas]

Do you need that much density there?

Heavier than lead.

I have heard that DU ballast has been used in F1 before , but i am asking how would that influence if it were to be incased in the titanium skid plates.

How would FIA figure out that is not just titanium.

do they do full x.ray scans on the car?

Im very aware of the density of DU...my question is whether they need that much density at all...especially in the skid plate.

Its like asking if they could gold plate the steering wheel. Even if they are allowed to...why would they?

[turbof1]

Do you need that much density there?

Heavier than lead.

I have heard that DU ballast has been used in F1 before , but i am asking how would that influence if it were to be incased in the titanium skid plates.

How would FIA figure out that is not just titanium.

do they do full x.ray scans on the car?

Im very aware of the density of DU...my question is whether they need that much density at all...especially in the skid plate.

Its like asking if they could gold plate the steering wheel. Even if they are allowed to...why would they?

Well, I can understand why: it's very, very low down the car, the lowest part of the car, and quite central too. This is a benefit when looking at ballast to add weight up to your minimum weight (around 700kg I presume nowadays). Having as much mass as possible down there, will increase your CoG. The denser your material is, the quicker you can get to your minimum weight before looking at less favourable places to add up ballast.

[FLuidd]

Heavier than lead.

I have heard that DU ballast has been used in F1 before , but i am asking how would that influence if it were to be incased in the titanium skid plates.

How would FIA figure out that is not just titanium.

do they do full x.ray scans on the car?

Im very aware of the density of DU...my question is whether they need that much density at all...especially in the skid plate.

Its like asking if they could gold plate the steering wheel. Even if they are allowed to...why would they?

Well, I can understand why: it's very, very low down the car, the lowest part of the car, and quite central too. This is a benefit when looking at ballast to add weight up to your minimum weight (around 700kg I presume nowadays). Having as much mass as possible down there, will increase your CoG. The denser your material is, the quicker you can get to your minimum weight before looking at less favourable places to add up ballast.

exactly. a thin layer of titanium on the surface to make contact with the ground , then on the inside a du plate.

now , i wonder how expensive would be to make such a plate.

[sgth0mas]

Heavier than lead.

I have heard that DU ballast has been used in F1 before , but i am asking how would that influence if it were to be incased in the titanium skid plates.

How would FIA figure out that is not just titanium.

do they do full x.ray scans on the car?

Im very aware of the density of DU...my question is whether they need that much density at all...especially in the skid plate.

Its like asking if they could gold plate the steering wheel. Even if they are allowed to...why would they?

Well, I can understand why: it's very, very low down the car, the lowest part of the car, and quite central too. This is a benefit when looking at ballast to add weight up to your minimum weight (around 700kg I presume nowadays). Having as much mass as possible down there, will increase your CoG. The denser your material is, the quicker you can get to your minimum weight before looking at less favourable places to add up ballast.

Good answer! Thanks!

[turbof1]

Quick correction: when I said "increase the CoG", I meant it as it benefits it and lowers it. My apologies if that come across as the opposite!

[sgth0mas]

Quick correction: when I said "increase the CoG", I meant it as it benefits it and lowers it. My apologies if that come across as the opposite!

I read it as "increases a teams control of the location of CG".

[Edax]

How would that affect an F1 car ?
Is it illegal to used it in F1 ?

Yes it would be illegal. I can imagine F1 having used it as stationary ballast in the 60s-70's. In that period it was used in other fields (eg. aviation), but not later.

I also do not see the benefit of using DU skid plates. You use a skid plate to prevent the plank from being worn down, you don't want the skid plate to wear down as fast. So you are looking for a specific set of properties, mainly hardness, toughness and friction for the wear behavior, and thermal conductivity, thermal capacity and melting point, to control the energy flows associated with rubbing on the road. Weight is a bonus.

When I heard the remark that they were using toxic heavy metals, the first thing which sprang to mind was thoriated tungsten.
Most common heavy metal is tungsten, but it is very brittle and would likely crumble in contact with the road,

Thoriated tungsten has been used for a long period of time for many applications ranging from light bulbs to welding electrodes and was abundantly available. Only a few years ago it became banned (in Europe) under the nuclear act. It has the properties of tungsten but not its brittleness, which could make it an interesting candidate.

DU INCASED IN TITANIUM , KEY WORK INCASED.

Ok misread that part. Mea culpa.

Engineering gut feeling encasing it in titanium would be a bad idea. Main function of a skid plate is still to prevent wear of the plank. That means you have to dissipate heat. Contact of flash temperatures can easily reach in excess of 1500C, Just rub your hand over a carpet to feel the effect. That is what is causing the sparks after all.

A thin layer of titanium on W or DU would introduce a interface resistance to heat conduction due to voids, phonon scattering or introduction of a secondary phase (braze). That means that as a skid plate the combination would be less effective than a single material. The titanium would heat up faster and wear down worse. Perhaps the layer would even spall.

I doubt that the weight advantage would be sufficient to compensate these disadvantages.

[CouncillorRick]

Why DU? Just go crazy and use osmium.