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    English For Engineering Case Study 6

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    Joe Waller
    The document discusses the radical design of the 1976 Tyrell P34 Formula 1 race car, which had six wheels instead of the standard four. In the first part, students discuss in pairs the potential advantages and disadvantages of the six-wheel design. They then present their ideas to the class. The second part provides more information on technical terms and engineering implications of the design. Students analyze whether each implication is an advantage or disadvantage. They also discuss which three implications the car's designer, Derek Gardner, likely saw as the main advantages of the six-wheel configuration.

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    English For Engineering Case Study 6

    Uploaded by

    Joe Waller
    486 views4 pages
    The document discusses the radical design of the 1976 Tyrell P34 Formula 1 race car, which had six wheels instead of the standard four. In the first part, students discuss in pairs the potential advantages and disadvantages of the six-wheel design. They then present their ideas to the class. The second part provides more information on technical terms and engineering implications of the design. Students analyze whether each implication is an advantage or disadvantage. They also discuss which three implications the car's designer, Derek Gardner, likely saw as the main advantages of the six-wheel configuration.

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    English for Engineering Case Study 6

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    The document discusses the radical design of the 1976 Tyrell P34 Formula 1 race car, which had six wheels instead of the standard four. In the first part, students discuss in pairs the potential advantages and disadvantages of the six-wheel design. They then present their ideas to the class. The second part provides more information on technical terms and engineering implications of the design. Students analyze whether each implication is an advantage or disadvantage. They also discuss which three implications the car's designer, Derek Gardner, likely saw as the main advantages of the six-wheel configuration.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    486 views4 pages

    English For Engineering Case Study 6

    Uploaded by

    Joe Waller
    The document discusses the radical design of the 1976 Tyrell P34 Formula 1 race car, which had six wheels instead of the standard four. In the first part, students discuss in pairs the potential advantages and disadvantages of the six-wheel design. They then present their ideas to the class. The second part provides more information on technical terms and engineering implications of the design. Students analyze whether each implication is an advantage or disadvantage. They also discuss which three implications the car's designer, Derek Gardner, likely saw as the main advantages of the six-wheel configuration.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    Professional English

    Cambridge English for

    Engineering

    UNIT 6

    case study

    Radical development

    Part 1

    a Look at the drawing of the Tyrell P34, a radical Formula 1 car from 1976.

    Inpairs, discuss the possible advantages and disadvantages of the cars unique
    six-wheel design. During your discussion, make notes. The following sections from
    Cambridge English for Engineering may be useful.
    Unit 1 Emphasizing technical advantages (pages 10 and 11)
    Unit 3 Describing positions of assembled components (pages 28 and 29)
    Unit 6 Discussing technical requirements (pages 46 and 47)

    b Use your notes to sum up your thoughts in a short presentation to the class.

    ell
    Tyrr

    Cambridge English for Engineering Cambridge University Press 2011


    www.cambridge.org/elt/englishforengineering

    Photocopiable

    UNIT 6 Radical Development

    Part 2
    a Look at the words and phrases (110) below. Did you mention any of these items
    in your discussion in Part 1?
    b
    1 friction
    2 brake pads
    3 brake discs
    4 contact patch
    5 drag
    6 frontal area
    7 lateral loads
    8 rolling resistance
    9 suspension
    10
    wheel bearings

    b Match the definitions below (aj), to the correct words and phrases in a (110).

    a air resistance
    b rubbing force
    c the parts of a brake that are pressed against a spinning circular plate to create
    friction
    d the two-dimensional shape seen when looking at the car from the front
    e the spinning circular plates which brake pads press against to create friction
    f the force that counteracts the motion of a tyre as it travels along a road surface
    g the parts between the wheels and axles that allow the wheels to spin with minimal
    friction
    h the sideways forces generated when the car goes around corners
    i the structure that connects the wheels to the chassis
    j the surface area of the tyres touching the ground

    c The points below describe some possible engineering implications of having four

    smaller front wheels on a racing car, instead of two larger ones. Read them and
    then compare them with the ideas in your notes from Part 1. Which ones did you
    think of in your earlier discussion?
    1 Having four front tyres instead of two increases the contact patch of the front
    tyres. This gives the tyres more grip under lateral loads and braking.
    2 Having four front tyres instead of two increases rolling resistance.
    3 Having four front wheels instead of two increases the friction generated by the
    front wheel bearings.
    4 Having four front wheels instead of two increases the mass of the front suspension.
    5 Having four brake discs and four pairs of brake pads for the front wheels increases
    braking force.
    6 Having smaller wheels gives a smaller frontal area and reduces drag.
    7 Smaller front wheels can be hidden behind the front wing. This allows the front
    wing to direct most of the air over the front wheels while reducing the air flowing
    under them.

    d Some of the seven technical implications in c, above, are positive and some are

    negative. With a partner, analyse and discuss each of the points. Decide whether
    each one is an advantage or a disadvantage for a racing car. Make notes on the
    reasons for your answers under the headings below.
    Advantages:

    Disadvantages:

    e It is thought that the engineer Derek Gardner, who designed the Tyrell P34, saw

    three of the seven points in c as the main advantages of the six-wheeler. In pairs,
    discuss your thoughts on which three points you think they might be.

    Cambridge English for Engineering Cambridge University Press 2011


    www.cambridge.org/elt/englishforengineering

    Photocopiable

    Professional English

    Cambridge English for

    Engineering

    UNIT 6

    TEACHERS NOTES

    Radical development

    Before you begin ...

    Remind students of the title of Unit 6 of Cambridge English for Engineering,


    Technical development. Write Radical development on the board and explain
    that this is the title of the case study they are going to look at. Then invite
    students to brainstorm words with a similar meaning to radical.
    Suggested answers
    complete, extreme, imaginative, very important, unexpected

    Next, write up Tyrell P34 Formula 1 car, 1976. Say that this car is famous
    because it was one of the most radical Formula 1 car designs in history. Ask
    students if they know, or can guess, what was radical about it (the car had six
    wheels instead of four).

    NB: If students dont know why the Tyrell P34 was special, you could play the
    video of the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix (link below). Before playing the video, tell
    students to watch out for a radical-looking car, and ask them to say whats radical
    about it. The Tyrell P34 six-wheeler appears in the race footage from about 129
    (it is the blue number 3 car).
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN2dtVGpvxs&feature=related

    Part 1
    a Note that, since this task has a predictive element, initially you should only hand
    out (or reveal) the first resource sheet (page 1). Hand out (or reveal) the other
    pages only after students have completed Part 1.

    Students complete the task in pairs.

    b Give students a few minutes to prepare. Then invite two (or more) pairs to give a
    presentation to the class.

    Part 2
    a Hand out

    (or reveal) the rest of the resource sheet. Students answer the
    question in pairs, then feed back to the class. They should ignore the gaps after
    each item for now.

    b Students complete the task before checking in pairs. Then check the answers with
    the class.

    Answers
    2c3e4j5a6d7h8f9i10g

    c Students work in pairs to compare their ideas with those in list of implications.
    They then feed back to the class.

    Cambridge English for Engineering Cambridge University Press 2011


    www.cambridge.org/elt/englishforengineering

    Photocopiable

    UNIT 6 Radical Development

    d Students complete the task in pairs. The Suggested answers below include
    explanations (given in brackets).
    Suggested answers
    Advantages:
    1 This allows the car to take corners faster.
    5 This allows the car to brake harder and decelerate at a faster rate, so the
    driver can brake later for corners.
    6 The reduced drag allows the car to travel faster in a straight line.
    7 This reduces lift [the aerodynamic force that tries to lift the car upwards off
    the road] and increases downforce [the aerodynamic force that pushes the car
    downwards onto the track]. Reducing lift and increasing downforce gives the
    car more grip in corners.
    Disadvantages:
    2 This makes the car slower when it travels along straights.
    3 This makes the car slower when it travels along straights.
    4 This increased mass makes the car heavier, reducing its rate of acceleration
    and deceleration.

    e Students discuss the question in pairs.


    Answers
    The 3 main advantages from c are:
    1 Having four front tyres instead of two increases the contact patch of the front
    tyres. This gives the tyres more grip under lateral loads and braking.
    5 Having four brake discs and four pairs of brake pads for the front wheels
    increases braking force.
    7 Smaller front wheels can be hidden behind the front wing. This allows the
    front wing to direct most of the air over the front wheels while reducing the air
    flowing under them.
    NB: Advantage 6 (Having smaller wheels gives a smaller frontal area and
    reduces drag) is actually not a genuine advantage. Reducing the size of only the
    front wheels did not reduce the frontal area of the Tyrell P34 because the cars
    rear wheels were larger. Therefore, the larger rear wheels defined the frontal area
    of the car.

    Cambridge English for Engineering Cambridge University Press 2011


    www.cambridge.org/elt/englishforengineering

    Photocopiable

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