SAFETY IN MOTORSPORT the only
way to get everyone to use it was to give it to them
else has gone wrong and will, via telemetry, send a warning to the timing stand. ‘In that situation the gearbox can be put into emergency mode,’ says Griffiths. ‘We’ve deliberately made the system very easy to override. Of course that means that a driver could do that when he comes into the pits, but any car that is in emergency mode and is overriding the system shows up immediately on our telemetry. We have an agreement with IndyCar that we will monitor that and, if we see something suspicious, we will report it. At the beginning of the season the drivers were told that any indiscretion in that regard would result in a drive-through penalty.’
A sensor in the buckeye detects when the fuel nozzle is in place. If the car is not already in neutral, it will send a signal to the gearbox control unit and request a downshift
MANDATORY FROM 2011 Following successful tests, the RSIS was made mandatory from the opening round of the 2011 IndyCar series – a process made possible by HPD’s commitment to supply the teams with one free system for each car running in the series. ‘That’s a cost of $800 (£490) per car, but we realised that the only way to get everyone to use it was to give it to them,’ observes Griffiths. To date the reaction to the
incidents with fuel spills in motor racing,’ says Griffiths, ‘and particularly in IndyCar racing.’ In the IndyCar series, the cars
are refuelled with their engines running, so Griffiths’ idea was not to allow the driver to engage first gear until the fuel hose has been disconnected. With the HPD system, the
racecar comes down the pit lane and the driver enters his pit box as normal. If he goes through the standard sequence of events ie puts the car into neutral and the refueller attaches the hose, the RSIS simply waits to see if anything happens. ‘The whole thing about the system is that it is supposed to be effectively invisible to the driver,’ explains Griffiths. ‘If the car is still in first gear as the refuelling hose is connected, the sensor will send a command to the ECU requesting a down shift. The gearbox will then automatically shift into neutral.
‘While the system detects
that the gearbox is in neutral and registers that the fuel probe is in it masks any command by the driver via the up-shift panel to select first gear. The instant the probe is withdrawn the status changes and the GCU is then able to react to a command from the up-shift panel, meaning the driver can then select first gear and drive off.’
SYSTEM CHECKS The system also makes a number of other checks, such as determining that car speed is zero and that the pit lane speed limiter has been activated. These checks are done so that the system cannot be inadvertently activated while the car is running at speed on the track. The system is also able to cater for other scenarios, such as when an IndyCar leaves its pit box after refuelling and a crew member
56
www.racecar-engineering.com • September 2011
squirts a jet of water at the fuel ‘buckeye’ to make sure that any residual ethanol fuel is diluted in order that it cannot ignite. ‘What we don’t want is for the sensor to react to the water,’ continues Griffiths. ‘If there is any kind of foreign matter, such as tyre rubber, debris from an accident or water, the sensor will register its presence as it can’t distinguish the difference. But to ensure the system is not inadvertently triggered in such a scenario there is an automatically activated mask that kicks in for a number of seconds as the car leaves the pit box. Then, once the car gets above a certain road speed, the system is also masked so that it cannot then be triggered by a piece of debris landing in the buckeye while the car is running on the track.’ The RSIS can also check if
there is an error from the sensor, if it has failed or if something
RSIS has ranged from neutral to positive. ‘In the races so far there have been no obvious issues with the system,’ concludes Griffiths. ‘We’ve had no negative feedback from the teams and the drivers I’ve spoken to about it say it doesn’t make any real difference to them. ‘The only time extension to
a pit stop is in how long it takes the driver to react. All teams have put an indicator light on the dashboard of their cars to show when the fuel probe is in. Now, during a pit stop the driver just stares at the light and, as soon as it goes out, they select first gear and go. The difference between a pit stop with the system and one without it is probably half a second, maybe less. In fact, one of the drivers told me that it may even have made pit stops faster because he selects first gear and goes as soon as the light goes out. I was slightly alarmed at this and said, “You still need to watch your crew man that’s guiding you out! Collision avoidance isn’t a part of the system!”’
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100