Test Drive Magic Fires: The History of Compressor Technology III
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Test Drive Magic Fires: The History of Compressor Technology III

Test Drive Magic Fires: The History of Compressor Technology III

20s and 30s of the last century - the golden age of compressors

As mentioned in the previous section, at some point, engine designers realize that, while largely justifying their purpose, a mechanical compressor has one serious drawback - it requires a lot of power taken from the engine crankshaft to drive it. Naturally, this does not increase the savings, on the contrary, in practice, the opposite is true. However, otherwise the engines would become gigantic. Compressors are an opportunity for them to have more power only when they need it, and in the XNUMXs and XNUMXs, mechanical compressors proved to be the only and generally indispensable means of building powerful gasoline engines - it was their golden age of rise. history as a "compressor era".

It appeared at the end of the First World War and was the first mechanical compressor car to compete in a major race. Fiat, but the first development was actually Daimler and dates back to 1921. The Roots compressor is connected to the engine via a multi-disk connector and is not used constantly (the principle was used in most modern purely mechanical circuits, but without actually shutting down, but with the device switching to "bypass" mode). . The moment the pilot decides he needs maximum power, he depresses the accelerator pedal to the floor and engages the clutch, and a special linkage mechanism activates a valve that reconfigures the intake manifolds so that fresh air is compressed by the compressor before passing through specially designed front carburetors. under pressure. The system was first developed by Gottlieb Daimler's son Paul Daimler and perfected by Ferdinand Porsche. Thanks to the inventions of such ingenious designers in the 1926s, compressors became a priority part of the Daimler racing program, and thanks to the fact that they were offered to wealthy car enthusiasts (almost all of the company's sports cars at that time were absolutely inaccessible to the ordinary citizen). ) are not much different from sports models, then most of the company's model range is made up of cars equipped with compressor units. The merger of Daimler and Benz in 24 gave a new impetus to the development of compressor technology, and the combined intellectual potential led to the creation of technical creations that were brilliant for their time. The first model of these technological masterpieces is the 100/140/1926 six-cylinder engine. The three-digit model marking system in Germany dates back to that time - the first is the "financial power" of the car, the second indicates the maximum power without a compressor, and the last is the real power with the compressor on. Thus were born the production models K (from German Kurz, “short”) 6,24 years with a working volume of 24 liters and the designation 10/160/1927, as well as S (from “Sport”) 6,78 years from 26, 120- liter engine, high power compressor, two carburetors and designation 180/1928/27. In 140, the legendary SS (from Super Sport) 200/27/170 and SSK (Super Sport Kurz) 225/1930/300 appeared, and in 7,1 - the phenomenal SSKL (from Super Sport Kurz Leicht) ). "L" comes from the German "leicht", "light") - a lightweight version with a capacity of 0,85 hp. With. and the same 1931-liter engine, but with the compressor pressure increased to XNUMX bar. With this car, Rudy Caracciola won every race he entered in XNUMX.

These models have won countless prestigious awards in Germany, but they are not the only representatives of the "compressor era". Deserving to be inscribed in gold letters in the history of automotive models, they also create brands such as Alfa Romeo, Bugatti and Delage. These centuries-old engineering creations require a special fuel to function properly in racing versions, because none of the gasolines known until then can withstand the insane pressure and temperature in the cylinders. In the end, the designers turned to the only known method of preventing explosions and resorted to using "hellish mixtures" of alcohol, synthetic benzene and a small amount of gasoline.

The culmination of the development of these technologies was the rise to power of Hitler. Determined to convince the world of the "superpowers" of the Aryan nation, he directs huge sums of government subsidies to German manufacturers. Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. A similar scenario is unfolding in Fascist Italy, where the heavily regime-backed Alfa Romeo team has begun developing a range of 8, 12 and 16-cylinder engines. The results of this technological upsurge are, of course, phenomenal, and the people driving the racing monsters are phenomenal - the restraint of a 750-kilogram machine with 645 hp. The village, which faces the road only 17 centimeters wide and is made of infinitely distant from today's high-tech composite tires, requires inhuman courage, strength and self-control.

The heroes of this era were unique cars such as Ferdinand Porsche's 16-cylinder Auto Union or a series of masterpieces such as the W25 and W125, created by Dr. Hans Niebel at the Mercedes design office. The W125, for example, has a monstrous 5663 cc engine with 645 hp. With. and a torque of 850 Nm. With this marvel capable of a top speed of 300 km/h as standard and 400 km/h with aerodynamic panels, Rudy Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Hermann Lang must compete at distances up to 500 km. No less surprising is the later racing Mercedes W154, which appears after the introduction of a volume limit of 3,0 liters and reaches a power of "barely" 450 hp. s., and the progress of compressor engines does not stop even after the introduction of the dragon displacement limit to 1,5 liters. This led to the introduction of the W165 with a V-shaped eight-cylinder engine, reaching 254 hp. at 8000 rpm, and the Italians from Alfa Romeo and the British from Bentley, Riley and MG. As already mentioned, in the twenties, racing and production cars differed only in furniture and some seemingly small details, but in the thirties, sports cars no longer have anything to do with common sense or mass production. One of the minor exceptions in this direction is the monstrous Mercedes 540K, which the propaganda machine turned into one of the emblems of the Third Reich.

During World War II, compressor machines also took over the airspace, and although the Gran's rule change gradually drove them off the runways after the end, the last dinosaurs of the "compressor era" did not shine in a dimmer light than their greatest ancestors. In 1947, for example, Ferry Porsche created a sophisticated, air-cooled, twelve-cylinder flat-box engine with four camshafts and a 1500 cc displacement. Cm, which, thanks to two two-stage compressors, reaches 296 hp. with., and with the appropriate settings can give 400 thousand.The final end of this technological era came three years later and was marked by the truly stunning creation of BRM (British Racing Motors), equipped with a 1,5-liter V16 engine with two two-stage centrifugal compressors, creating a huge pressure in the cylinders. After that, mechanical compressors left the 1951 Formula 1, for good, and gradually migrated to other exotic motorsport and serial automotive industries. The time of atmospheric cars came on the race tracks, and forced refueling devices came into use only in the 70s in the form of another, well-known today unit, the patent for which was registered back in 1905 ... Turbocharger.

Overseas, everything has always been infinitely different from what was on the Old Continent, and mechanical compressors have stoically retained their positions in previous races on carts for a long time. However, they were eventually replaced by turbochargers, and after the mid-50s, finding a mechanical compressor in any form in a gasoline engine became increasingly difficult.

Совсем другое дело – дизельные двигатели в грузовиках – по сути, они стимулируют производство более компактных дизелей (в то время в судостроении и локомотивах были довольно популярны двухтактные дизели, и они не могли работать без компрессора в роли периферийный блок). Конечно, механические компрессоры продолжали спорадически использоваться в 50-х, 60-х, 70-х и 80-х годах, и, как уже упоминалось, их основными сторонниками оставались американские компании, использующие продукцию Paxton и Eaton. Компрессоры не возвращались к европейским и японским производителям до XNUMX-х годов – они их использовали. ягуар, Aston Martin, Мерседес и Мазда. Особый интерес представляют разработки Mazda, которые со своим типичным духом экспериментатора экспериментируют с серийными моделями с двигателем Miller и механическим компрессором Lysholm, а также с комбинацией дизельного двигателя и специального волнового компрессора Comprex (с помощью которого воздух сжимается непосредственно волнами выхлопных газов). газы) в модели 626. Несмотря на все эти эксперименты, механические компрессоры по-прежнему остаются редкостью в разнообразной технологической фауне автомобильной промышленности.

It's time to go back for a while and follow the development of the turbocharger, a technology that is an integral part of modern cars, but in the twenties and thirties of the last century is still in its infancy and does not play a significant role, despite its extremely rational nature. In fact, this amazing unit was born very soon after the birth of the car itself - on November 13, 1905, Swiss engineer Alfred Buchi received a patent under No. 1006907 of the US Federal Patent Office for his idea of ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbcombining a gas turbine with a compressor and an internal combustion engine. burning.

(to follow)

Text: Georgy Kolev

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