Research Journey

The Road to my Research (12/10/2022)

Finding a research project was especially hard. I originally wanted to accompany my best friend's research found here. He is researching Tobacco Sponsorship in Formula 1. He and I both share a love for the sport and wanted to find ways to make it better. I, unfortunately, wanted to find a project that required technicalities, engineering, and physics; but, Formula 1 being the most overengineered sport in history, I could not find a subject that was novel. As a result, I looked to find something that I love that is part of Formula 1 and that is the engines. I started to investigate engine development over time for the sport and investigated the ways that the engine manufacturers make their engines better race after race and I found little gaps in the knowledge as they have sought after every competitive advantage.

(On the left is an image of a 2022 Formula 1 prototype car made by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and presented at the 2021 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

I then changed my focus, I would just do engines, not Formula 1. Since the Second World War, there has been a kind of engine with no pistons, that was vibrationless, and changed the name of efficiency in engine design, if we could get it to work better. This engine is the rotary engine and you can find it in old motorcycles from Communist East Germany (looking at you Hercules/DKW W-2000) to obscure Mazda RX-7s. I settled on trying something with the rotary engine in terms of making it more efficient, more manageable, and more appealing. However, the designs are still being researched by Mazda and I could not find a gap in the research that was feasible for a high school lab. I then thought about the intricacies of the rotary (sometimes referred to as a Wankel) engine. I knew it burned oil and so did two-stroke engines. I then decided that I wanted to focus on two-stroke engines and solving their biggest drawback: emissions.

(On the right is a animation of a Wankel/Rotary Engine, courtesy of Wikipedia.)

I looked for a gap in the data but there is extensive work on the subject. I spoke with an expert on motorcycles and other non-road legal machines before starting this research journey and he informed me that there are breakthroughs in two-stroke technology that allow it to be as clean as 4 stroke engines. However, these are expensive as they require oil injection and other upgrades which are not feasible in economically desperate regions. So, I started to investigate the oils themselves. One of the articles I was reviewing, which outlined exactly the procedures I wanted to use, used oils that the researchers did not disclose the makeup of.

(On the left is a diagram of a simple 4 stroke engine, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

I then decided I wanted to use my oil. But what oil? I found more research that outlined vegetable oils being used in a pinch on farm equipment. I then dove deeper into the subject and found that a lot of vegetable-derived oils have a lot of different properties and that some of them would be better than others in engine lubrication. I knew that I could use an engine I already owned to conduct the experiments and I found a way to quantify the independent variable: lubrication. I know that energy is not created or lost but rather converted. If I could find where power is being converted to in the engine I can find how good of a lubricant it is. I settled on Castor Oil because it is known to be a good lubricant at lower temperatures (ie: engine startup) and I am finalizing whether the other oil will be vegetable, canola, or olive oil. I believe I will look into vegetable oil because it is the most accessible of vegetable-derived oils. I know that two-stroke engines are most used in economically desperate regions and so the use of two-stroke oil, which is readily available from the market, has great appeal and would be a massive step forward in making the engines cleaner without the need to re-engineer them.

(On the right is a animation of a two piston, two-stroke engine design, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Mathew Kochevar - Rock Capstone Research Proposal Form 2022_23 - Google Docs.pdf

My Research Proposal

Mathew Kochevar - SRC Risk Assessment Form 2021_22 - Google Docs.pdf

My SRC (Not Finalized)

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