The exhaust system is one of the most important elements of our RT11 car. It has to be strong, lightweight and yet meet the stringent requirements set by the Formula Student competition organizers. That’s why we decided to make it out of titanium supplied by Wolften – a leader in the special alloys industry.
The work began with designing an exhaust manifold with the right parameters, and then manufacturing it. The titanium pipes with diameters of 38, 42 and 51 mm and wall thickness of 1.2-1.65 mm were cut into 350 small elements whose weight was additionally reduced by turning their outer diameter on a lathe. Thanks to this we obtained even thinner (and lighter) wall.
Welding of the individual parts was done by TIG welding in a protective argon atmosphere, which was necessary to avoid oxidation of the titanium. Initially, we welded the elbows together from 10-gauge rings, and then attached other small pieces in the appropriate shape. In the end, our exhaust manifold was made of about 220 small elements! The whole welding process took us 730 hours, because it was very detailed and required great precision.
The manifold was attached to the engine block with a flange, which was also made of titanium. Just like the muffler elements.
Wolften’s support was also used by the Suspension department, which used the material to create custom pins and nuts that connect the wheel to the hub. Such a solution made it possible to obtain the appropriate mechanical properties, and at the same time looks very impressive.