Air intake pipe

General Composites Discussions Showcase
#1

Hello again :slight_smile:

this is a mold for an air intake pipe (air filter to turbo) for my glanza. The weird shape comes because it passes through some impossible places (oil filter, air con, beneath the powersteering and through the p.s. and air con belt, to get behind the headlight)

so i made this two piece mold. i will be making two halves out of 3 layers of 100grm fiberglass and black epoxy. then these halves will be trimmed, placed back on the molds, the two molds bolted together and some glass will be used to join them. after that, i will add two carbon fiber tubes over that tube, and wet it out. I wont use vacuum both because the tube will be crushed , and because it will leave nasty wrinkles on the outside.

more coming soon

#2

I can’t get my head around how you are going to make this part, so i’m interested in some more explanation and pics!

#3

i will take some pics of the process for you then :slight_smile:

#4

It would be nice. :slight_smile:

I gave it some more thought :
After you have made and trimmed off your two halves you then bond them together with some fibreglass, but you can only get to do this maybe 50mm in from each end? This doesn’t matter too much because it will have the strength of the carbon wrap on the outside to hold it all together afterwards right?

#5

that’s right.

#6

The two halves trimmed, and the two molds joined. some layers of 100grm plain weave glass on each edge to connect the two parts

note: i already made the first fiberglass tube, and it was sweet. but i tried to use the 70mm carbon tube on it, and it was too loose. i forgot my own advice, and vacuum bagged it. and it broke :cool:

now, im on version 2. I’m gonna stick carbon cloth on it using a spray adhesive and wet it out. It’s not gonna be as strong as with the tube, but we gotta work with what we 've got.

#7

would this work on pipes that are under high boost from a turbo engine?

Thanks John

#8

yes of course. however, to build more strength i would use 3 layers of carbon.

having a carbon pipe like this one has two benefits and some drawbacks. Benefits are that it’s light (but it doesnt really matter) and that these pipes don’t heat up as much as aluminum or steel from the ambient temp of the engine bay.

drawbacks are that the internal surface will not be really smooth with this method, cause you will have two seams running along the length of the pipes, and the weave of the cloth will create a rough surface. and also, in a worst case scenario, they can catch on fire (compared to metal, which doesnt)

maybe in the future i will try my luck with aquapour.

#9

How about making a bladder bag, and pressurizing it slightly. You will get a nice clean inside, and no major seams.
I think Airtech Europe has a new bladder bag, for tubes.

#10

when your pipe is done it would be nice to see the inside, to understand how it looks!

Thanks John

#11

yes bladders are another method. However you would need to have a preetier mold (which i don’t have :rolleyes: )

t51r i will take some photos for you…

#12

i look forward to the pictures!!

Thanks John

#13

nay, as long as you have a mold where the outside is to your liking, the bladder only adds some pressure, and smooths out the inside. I’m not talking about blowing apart the mold with high pressure! :wink:
What I’m talking about is just a tube of bagging material, folded in a box shape (as per the pics I saw)…Prob just seal one end with tacky, and do the same with the other end, and add a tube. Eh.

#14

i agree :smiley:

#15

i’ve been busy with some other stuff so i havent completed this yet, the new version is like this: 1 layer of 100grm woven fiberglass, 1 layer of plain weave carbon (around 150-200grm) and another layer of woven fiberglass (for smoother surface)

now, i opened the envelope where i had bagged the other tube, the one that broke because of the pressure. this was just 3-4 layers of fiberglass (100grm , epoxy resin) and 1 layer of carbon. DAMN STRONG. so i change my opinion, 3 layers may be too much for high pressure pipes (but you can never be safe enough eh?)

im gonna make mine with only 1 - 1,5 layers of 290 grm carbon. Pics coming soon :smiley:

#16

High pressure pipes might burst if not strong enough!! Also, 1 layer of carbon, will have air pockets between the tows, so the whole thing might be porous!! I have a 4 layer bottle of 5.7oz carbon prepreg, and it’s like a water filter still.

#17

well this pipe does not have pressure, its the air filter to turbo pipe… only strength it needs to have is not to collapse when i tighten the clamps on the hoses , and hold the weight of the air filter…

#18

If your car uses an MAF sensor I could see a lean issue under higher engine loads. At idle there probably wont be enough vacuum to draw air through and porosity. Under load, I could see there being enough vacuum to draw un-measured air in through the pipes pores.

If your using a MAP sensor, porosity wont matter.

#19

map sensor here :smiley: apexi 3bar ftw

#20

3bar :eek: