The welding technology that made the F1 halo strong enough to save lives

When Romain Grosjean‘s Haas automobile cut up in two and burst into flames through the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, it was the titanium halo that finally saved his life. However what few folks know is {that a} groundbreaking welding method performed a vital function in making the halo sturdy sufficient to carry out as designed in that terrifying second.

The halo, now an important a part of Method 1’s security bundle, confronted sturdy opposition when it was first launched in 2018. Nevertheless, a number of high-profile crashes – together with Grosjean’s fiery accident, Zhou Guanyu’s dramatic flip at Silverstone in 2022, and the Verstappen-Hamilton conflict at Monza in 2021 – have since silenced the critics. The cockpit safety gadget has confirmed its price again and again.

However what not many individuals know is that manufacturing the halo to satisfy the FIA’s security requirements – to resist the immense forces it would face, the halo needed to be able to supporting the load of a London double-decker bus – posed a significant technical problem, one which conventional manufacturing strategies could not clear up. This required not solely high-grade titanium but in addition a flawless, progressive welding course of to protect the fabric’s properties.

The problem of welding titanium

By the top of 2017, the businesses that participated within the FIA’s tender for the manufacturing of the halo – together with the get together that finally gained the contract – didn’t have the in-house technical capabilities to weld the 5 titanium elements of the halo to the best doable high quality. That is after they turned to LKN WeldTitan, the titanium-specialized division of Dutch firm LKN WeldCompany BV. After practically 4 weeks of intensive analysis and improvement, they succeeded in welding the elements collectively in a means that utterly preserved the titanium’s technical properties, guaranteeing that the halo met FIA’s stringent requirements.

“Titanium is a reactive steel, which implies it reacts with components within the air – even at room temperature, in a way that oxidation happens,” explains Patrick Wouterse, founder and CEO of LKN WeldCompany, talking to Motorsport.com. “That is why it is extremely proof against corrosion: as soon as a skinny oxide layer kinds, it protects the steel from additional oxidation, a property that makes titanium splendid for chemical industries.”

However for the halo, the important thing property wasn’t simply corrosion resistance however the strength-to-weight ratio. “Titanium, particularly the grade 5 alloy used for the halo, is way stronger than metal whereas being considerably lighter,” Wouterse continues. “The place you’d want 15 millimetres of chrome steel for a sure power, you may solely want 5 millimetres of titanium. That is why it is used extensively in aerospace and why it was chosen for the halo. You need the strongest doable construction with out including an excessive amount of weight to the automobile.”

Nevertheless, titanium is a fragile course of, as heating the steel causes it to turn into much more reactive, making it take up components like oxygen and hydrogen “like a sponge in a bucket of water”. Even the slightest contamination, similar to microscopic traces of dust or oils from a fingerprint, can have already got disastrous penalties for the power of the titanium within the space the place the weld is.

“As soon as titanium absorbs these components, it modifications the steel’s composition and weakens it dramatically, as much as 75% within the affected space,” Wouterse explains. “To stop that, it is advisable create an surroundings the place, throughout welding, no different components can attain the steel.”

The innovation: a flawless welding course of inside a purge chamber

Usually, welders defend the realm with an area stream of inert fuel, like argon, to protect the molten steel. However with titanium, that is not sufficient. “The warmth radiates outward — the encircling materials can attain 1,000 levels Celsius. However at simply 150 levels, titanium already begins absorbing oxygen,” says Wouterse.

“You may truly see the injury — the titanium modifications color. Silver means the properties are intact, whereas gold signifies that there was a really slight however acceptable deterioration. But when it turns blue, purple, or inexperienced, the fabric is basically ruined.”

Titanium halo

Photograph by: LKN WeldCompany BV

To resolve this, Wouterse and his workforce spent years perfecting a singular welding course of, constructing specialised welding purge chambers, so the welding can happen in an environment of inert fuel.

“It sounds easy – simply put the elements in a field and fill it with argon – however it’s extraordinarily complicated,” Wouterse says. The issue is that there all the time stays a small quantity of oxygen within the purge chamber. “We fill the chamber primarily with argon, helium and neon. However argon is heavy, oxygen is mild, and helium is even lighter. Even the slightest turbulence from shifting your arms contained in the gloves can combine the gases and lift oxygen ranges.”

“We needed to discover methods to get the oxygen focus right down to just some elements per million,” Wouterse continues. “The whole lot, from the form of the chamber to the wall end, impacts the consequence. In order that’s all very difficult. And there are at the least fifteen different variables that each one must be good to get the correct values.”

Over the previous twenty years, Wouterse has specialised on this course of. By LKN WeldCompany BV, he has constructed a powerful status, resulting in world demand for his firm’s experience in specialised welding tasks throughout industries similar to aerospace, vitality, chemical, nuclear, pharmaceutical and automotive. As well as, Wouterse is regularly employed by firms for course of improvement and high quality management.

After FIA’s halo provider reached out to LKN through a mutual connection, the Amersfoort-based firm developed a customized welding chamber giant sufficient to deal with the whole halo jig, considering the construction’s complicated, asymmetrical hole design. “We then certified the method in response to EN ISO requirements, welded a prototype and examined it – it simply met the FIA’s requirements,” Wouterse recollects. “After that, we moved shortly into manufacturing. We ended up welding the primary hundred halos for Method 1 in early 2018.”

Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, emerges from flames after a horrific crash on the opening lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Marshals attend the accident

Photograph by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Pictures

A life-saving legacy

For Wouterse, seeing the halo in motion – particularly throughout crashes like Grosjean’s – is a supply of immense satisfaction. “After all, you all the time hope nothing unhealthy occurs. However when it does, it is good to know there is a halo on that automobile. It makes you proud to assume, ‘We helped make that’.

“Particularly at first, so many individuals hated the halo — they thought it was ugly whereas a few of the drivers mentioned it obstructed their view. However after the primary huge crash the place the halo made the distinction, all of the criticism stopped. Everybody agreed it was the correct factor.”

Grosjean’s crash left an enduring impression on Wouterse. “If you take a look at simulations that had been made after the incident, you see how the halo deformed the barrier simply sufficient to guard Grosjean’s head. With out it, he would not have survived. And since the halo held, he was additionally in a position to climb out of the burning wreckage.”

Wouterse even exchanged messages with Grosjean afterward. “I reached out on LinkedIn and defined our function within the halo. He replied, ‘Then I assume I have to thanks’. As an enormous Method 1 fan myself, that meant quite a bit.”

Later this 12 months, Wouterse plans to go to the F1 Exhibition in Amsterdam to see Grosjean’s burned-out chassis in individual – a robust reminder of the life-saving know-how he and his workforce helped good.