Ron Wanttaja wrote in
:

On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 16:35:43 -0700, Richard Riley
wrote:

"Research is continuing to look at fatigue, as well as analysis of
damage caused by corrosion, hail storms and other weather phenomena,
including trucks that collide with aircraft while they’re on the
ground."

That's really bad weather.

When they say, "It's raining cats and dogs," one generally ISN'T
thinking CATerpillars and DOGdges. :-)

Can "transparent aluminum" be far behind?

I like this, they don't say how much it weighs though:

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...ntroduces.html
Audi Introduces V12 Diesel Passenger Car Concept
7 January 2007

Leveraging the work it did with its V12 TDI R10 racing car (earlier
post), Audi has applied a 6.0-liter, Euro-5 compliant 12-cylinder diesel
TDI engine the first V12 passenger car engine in a concept version of
the Audi Q7. The Audi Q7 V12 TDI study delivers 368 kW (493 hp) and a
massive 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft) of torque.

The power of the turbocharged V12 TDI takes the SUV from 0 to 100 kph in
5.5 seconds, with fuel consumption of 11.9 liters/100km (20 mpg US).

Performance of the engine.
The Q7 V12 TDI’s cylinders actually sweep a greater volume than the
racing engine, which has a capacity of 5.5 liters. Its 5,934 cc are
produced by a bore of 83.0 millimeters and a stroke of 91.4 mm, the same
dimensions as the six-cylinder 3.0 TDI.

The two banks of cylinders are positioned opposite one another with an
offset of 17 millimeters. Measuring just 684 mm long, the V12 diesel has
an extremely compact design that enables it to fit into the Q7.

The V12 TDI features the same 90 mm spacing between cylinders as the
other models in the V engine series. However, the cylinder banks are
placed at an angle of 60 degrees to one another instead of the customary
90 degrees. This particular V12 configuration suppresses all of the
inertial forces and mass moments which would otherwise cause vibrations.

The V12 TDI’s crankcase is made from a mixture of cast iron and
vermicular graphite. Audi already uses this high-tech material, known as
GJV-450, in the manufacture of the V6 TDI and V8 TDI. GJV-450, which is
produced using a patented casting method, is around 40% more rigid than
cast iron and twice as resistant to fatigue.

Use of this material enabled the development team to make the walls
thinner, paving the way for a potential weight-saving of around 15%
compared to conventional cast iron.

The crankshaft is forged from chrome-molybdenum alloy steel and is
mounted with the aid of an extremely rigid main bearing bridge made from
nodular cast iron. The forged connecting rods are cracked, and the
pistons are made from aluminium.

The two cylinder heads each comprise three main elements. The bottom
section, incorporating the intake and exhaust ports and through which
the coolant flows, is made from a low-pressure die-cast aluminium alloy
that has a high-strength, lightweight construction. The top section,
which conducts the oil, is pressure-cast. The cylinder head is crowned
by a reinforcing ladder-type frame which holds the two camshafts.


Piston and valve system for the V12.
The valves are actuated by four camshafts acting via low-friction
roller-type cam followers, the compression ratio is 16.0:1. The map-
controlled swirl variation of the combustion air deployed in the V6 and
V8 TDI models has been retained. With this system, one of the intake
ports for each cylinder is either opened or closed by means of an
electrically operated flap, depending on the engine’s operating point.
Intermediate flap positions are also possible. This allows the swirl to
be adjusted for optimum exhaust emissions combined with high power
delivery.

As is customary on V engines from Audi, the maintenance-free chain drive
is fitted in a space-saving location on the rear face of the engine. The
developers devised a new layout for the V12 TDI, however. The
crankshaft’s sprocket wheel meshes with an intermediate gear which in
turn drives the camshafts by means of two simplex chains. Two additional
chains drive the oil pump as well as both high-pressure pumps for the
common-rail injection system.

Bosch supplies a 2,000-bar injection system for the V12. The hole
diameter of the eight-hole injector nozzles has now been reduced to a
mere 0.12 millimeters. The high pressure produces an optimum spray
pattern inside the combustion chamber, which makes for a faster, more
homogeneous and, as a result, more acoustically refined ignition
process. The improved combustion efficiency increases power output while
reducing both fuel consumption and emissions.

More than 300 piezo discs are packed into each of the V12 TDI injectors,
which transmit the minimal expansion to the valve needle directly
(inline) without the need for any form of transmission mechanism between
the two. Each actuation takes just a few milliseconds.

The fuel pressure and quantity can be adjusted according to
requirements; the number of injection phases per power stroke can be
varied up to a maximum of five with the piezoelectric technology in the
V12 TDI. Main injection can be accompanied by both pilot and post-
injection phases. Pilot injection lessens the harshness of the
combustion sound, which is particularly noticeable at low engine loads.

The delayed post-injection of fuel serves to increase the temperature of
the exhaust gas. This allows any particulate residue to be burned off in
order to regenerate the two particulate filters which are included as
standard.

Two variable vane geometry turbochargers supply compressed air—each to
one bank of cylinders. The variable vane geometry ensures that the full
exhaust flow is directed through the turbine at all times. The
turbochargers offer fast response even at low rev speeds and attain a
high degree of efficiency.

Both turbochargers generate up to 2.6 bar of absolute boost pressure and
are key in achieving the peak torque of 1,000 Nm.

The temperature of the compressed air is reduced by two large
intercoolers. The V12 comes with a double-flow exhaust system featuring
two particulate filters. The intake system is similarly structured for
each bank of cylinders there is an air cleaner followed immediately by a
hot-film air mass meter. Two control units operating based on the
master-slave principle orchestrate proceedings inside the engine.


The Q7 V12 TDI study.
The Audi Q7 V12 TDI is Euro-5 compliant. At partial throttle, up to 50%
of the exhaust gases are fed back into the intake air via the Exhaust
Gas Recirculation system to reduce NOx emissions. The extensive
recirculation system incorporates a water cooler which reduces the
temperature of the exhaust gases sharply.

The V12 TDI is coupled with a new six-speed tiptronic transmission. The
quattro driveline splits the drive power 40:60 between the front and
rear wheels under normal driving conditions. This results in slightly
tail-heavy, sporty handling characteristics.

-

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006...iesel_win.html
Audi Diesel Wins Twelve Hours of Sebring Race
19 March 2006

The aluminum V12 TDI
Audi made racing history on Saturday as its diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI
won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, becoming the first diesel car
in the world to win a major sports car race. Audi used Sebring as a test
for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, set for June 17-18.

The new Audi R10 TDI is powered by a completely new all-aluminum, 5.5-
liter, twelve-cylinder bi-turbo TDI engine that delivers more than 485
kW (650 hp) and more than 1,100 Nm of torque.

The V12 TDI used in the R10 is the first Audi diesel engine with an
aluminium crankcase. The cylinder-bank angle is 90 degrees. The V12 TDI
has, like Audi production car engines, four valves per cylinder and twin
overhead camshafts. The common rail fuel injection system exceeds 1,600
bar, and ignition pressures reach values never previously seen in any
Audi engine. The V12 TDI is equipped with a pair of diesel particle
filters.

"This engine is the specifically most powerful diesel there is in the
world and, up until now, the biggest challenge that Audi Sport has ever
faced in its long history. There has never been anything remotely
comparable. We started development with a clean sheet of paper."

Ulrich Baretzky, Head of Engine Technology at Audi Sport
-
Audi wants to use its diesel work in motorsport to increase its
technology advantages in the commercial diesel engines. Every second
Audi sold today is delivered with a TDI diesel engine.
-
"With regard to fuel consumption, environmental friendliness, the
combustion process and other new technologies we expect an enormous push
in the coming years. We are still relatively close to the findings of
our colleagues from production since we are breaking completely new
ground in motorsport. However, this will change. I believe to be able to
share the things that we developed specifically for motorsport with
production in the future."

Ulrich Baretzky