Application of 4130 steel tubing in racing car : Seamless steel tubing for anti-roll bar of car

 

According to the rules for the frame, the structure of a racing car must include two anti-roll bars with supports, a front bulkhead with support system and cushioning structure, and a side crash structure, that is, the main ring, the front ring, the anti-roll bar diagonal brace and its support structure, the side crash structure, the front bulkhead, the front bulkhead support system, all the frame units that can transfer the load of the rider restraint system to the basic structure. The frame unit refers to the shortest, uncut, continuous individual tube. One of the functions of the frame is to carry various loads from inside and outside the car, but the mechanical properties of various materials vary greatly, and it is difficult for designers and judges to determine whether the frame load capacity meets the standard. Alloy steel is an iron-carbon alloy formed by adding the right amount of one or more alloying elements on the basis of ordinary carbon steel. The addition of different elements and the use of different processing processes, you can get high strength, high toughness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, low temperature resistance, high temperature resistance, non-magnetic and other special properties. And our protagonist, the full name is 30CrMo tubing, also called 4130 steel tubing. Its high strength and high toughness, good hardenability, hardenability in oil diameter of 15-70mm, steel thermal strength is good, in 500˚C below with sufficient high temperature strength, welding performance is good.

 

4130 domestic grade 30CrMo, is an alloy steel containing chromium and molybdenum, tensile strength is generally more than 750MPa, the market that is seen in the bar and thick plate is the main. Thin-walled 4130 steel tubing is used to make bicycle frames. This is a detachable steel tube assembly. It is bent from cold-drawn seamless carbon steel tubing and installed one by one in accordance with the contours of the interior of the carriage for connection or welding. If you remove the body shell, what you see is a metal cage built by several steel tubes, so, Hong Kong people also called “anti-roll cage”. With this treasure of body protection, even if the vehicle hit a few rolls, the exterior of the body is disastrous, the car will be safe and sound. The steel tube material and anti-twist degree used in the anti-roll cage is based on the weight of the body, generally to be able to withstand the impact of more than 2 times the weight of the body. As the road surface of the field race is flat, there is basically no drop, compared to the rally on the mountain road and off-road race in the field, if there is a rollover, the body damage will be larger. So the rally car and off-road racing car anti-roll bar has higher strength and more intensive tube construction. In addition to dealing with accidents, professionally installed roll cage can also play a role in strengthening the body and resisting distortion. For example, several welded positions of the anti-roll bar are connected to the front and rear shock absorbers, so that even if the vehicle jumps frequently, the impact from the ground will be partly dispersed to the anti-roll bar, thus providing protection to the car body.

 

The 4130 was primarily used in the aircraft industry, but things began to change in the early to mid-1950s when it entered the chassis structure of racing cars. Just like the aviation industry, the adoption of 4130 as the primary chassis construction material for racing cars was a gradual development over many years. Many racers at the time questioned 4130’s ability to weld, as TIG welding was a very new technology and most fabricators used brazing to weld the material. It was not until 1953 that Boeing Aircraft documented and began TIG welding their 4130 structures. It is impossible to identify the chassis of the first 4130 race car, but it was likely used beginning in auto racing, such as SCCA cars, Top Fuel cars, Indy cars, or Formula 1 cars.

 

By the mid-1950s, a number of cars built on 4130 were racing in multiple classes sanctioned by the SCCA. in 1953, Forest Edwards built the Edwards/Blue Speical from a wrecked ’51 Morris sedan and 4130. chalmers Hall would drive his “little digger” to win the SCCA Class H Modified Pacific Coast Championship, which is a ladder frame built from 1.25″ x .030″ 4130.

 

Drag Dart: Dodd Martin and Jim Nelson with their Dragmaster Dart, 1962 Around 1959 or 1960, Dodd Martin and Jim Nelson founded the Dragmaster Company in Carlsbad, California. They were at the forefront of racing technology, winning “Best Design” in NHRA national competition. Within a year of opening, Dragmaster began producing a chassis known as the “Dart,” which was available in both 4130 and mild steel.

 

In 1965, the rear-engined Brawner Hawk, built in 4130 and driven by Mario Andretti, debuted. The Brawner Hawk was built by legendary mechanic Clint Bronner and his then protégé Jim McKee. It was based on the Copper-Climax, the first rear-engine car to make the Indy 500 starting line in 1961, driven by two-time Formula One champion Jack Brabham. That year, with Mario at the wheel, Braun-Hawk had great success. At the Hoosier Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Park, Mario earned four top-five qualifying finishes, one pole position, five top-five finishes, and his first USAC victory. He also won the USAC’s 1965 season championship and the 1965 Indianapolis ‘500’ Stark-Wetzel Rookie of the Year.

 

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, Dennis Klingman and Wyatt Swaim of Lincoln Electric went to Europe to teach Formula 1 car manufacturers how to TIG weld 4130 tubing instead of brazing. In the late 70s, 4130 would gradually make its way into other forms of racing. Around 1971, Jerry Weeks-Baker built a new cage using 4130 on his Austin-Healy Sprite car, which he raced at SCCA sanctioned events. At the time, the SCCA rule book allowed the use of 4130, but did not recommend it because of the difficulty of welding. Jerry later built a small 4130 for Don Edmonds to race in USAC sanctioned events. around 1975, USAC regulations allowed the use of 4130 as long as it was in normalized condition.

 

By the late 1970s, many sanctioning bodies began requiring roll cages made of 4130 for the highest levels of competition. on December 12, 1978, the SFI mandated that all Top Fuel chassis be made of 4130. the SFI is a non-profit organization that publishes and regulates standards for professional/performance cars and racing equipment. By 1984, SFI also mandated that Funny Cars be made of 4130.

 

4130 Steel Chemical Composition  

Grade C Mn P S Si Cr Mo
4130 0.28-0.33 0.40-0.60 0-0.035 0-0.040 0.15-0.35 0.80-1.10 0.15-0.25

 

AISI 4130 Materials Mechanical Properties  

Properties Metric
Tensile strength, ultimate 560 MPa
Tensile strength, yield 460 MPa
Modulus of elasticity 190-210 GPa
Bulk modulus (Typical for steel) 140 GPa
Shear modulus (Typical for steel) 80 GPa
Poissons ratio 0.27-0.30
Elongation at break (in 50 mm) 21.50%
Reduction of area 59.6
Hardness, Brinell 217
Hardness, Knoop (Converted from Brinell hardness) 240
Hardness, Rockwell B (Converted from Brinell hardness) 95
Hardness, Rockwell C (Converted from Brinell hardness, value below normal HRC range, for comparison purposes only.) 17
Hardness, Vickers (Converted from Brinell hardness) 228
Machinability (Annealed and cold drawn. Based on 100% machinability for AISI 1212 steel.) 70

Fushun Metal LTD CO

Fushun Metal is a large seamless steel tube manufacturer and supplier. We are metal experts and have been providing quality customer service and products since 1998.

 

At Fushun Metal, we supply a wide range of metals for a variety of applications. Our products/stock includes: cold rolled steel tube, cold drawn steel tube, hollow bar, plate tube, boiler tube, alloy steel tube, stainless steel tube, nickel alloy tube, flanges etc

 

Our steel tubes and pipes are available in a wide range of process including: cold drawn, cold rolled, hot rolled, polished, threaded, painted etc. We can cut metal to your exact specifications.

 

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