magnesium
The case for Magnesium is interesting in all aspects compared to Aluminium as it is significantly lighter with reasonable strength however it has a chemical reaction with brake fluid and this tends to rule it out.
other
F1 began using an Aluminium/ Beryllium (62%) MMC several years ago and this material has ultra-high specific stiffness (193GPa/2.07 g/cc). AlBeMet® AM 162 is a powder metallurgical product produced by gas atomisation available as rod, bar, tube and sheet. These shapes are derived by consolidating the Al/Be powder by hot
isostatic pressing (HIP) and cold isostatic pressing (CIP) followed by extrusion or sheet rolling processes. |
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It was the use of this space material that forced the FIA to restrict the performance of the braking system asthe cost was prohibitively expensive with only the top teams affording the 80:1 material cost Increas Subsequent machining and surface finishing problems were eliminated for the suppliers with much relief.
Conclution
As a result of all of the above onsiderations the Aluminium material 2618T6 was chosen for the application predominantly because this satisfied the performance and life cycle at acceptable costs. A thick anodised layer
protects the caliper from the environment and gives acceptable wear protection for the mating components. |
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