An Egg-citing Crash

Objectives of Lesson Automotive safety features that help to save lives. What Crumple Zones are and how they help us. The physics behind them! Facts figures and much more. Requirements next design project.

Crash Test Dummies

Passenger Restraint & Safety Seat Belts Air Bags Distance Control Assist System Child Safety Seats Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) Crumple Zones

Seat Belts Seatbelts save approximately 13,000 lives in the United States each year. What are all cars required to have on both the driver and passenger side?

Air Bags Statistics show that airbags reduce the risk of dying in a direct frontal crash by about 30 percent. What is the newest safety system designed to help prevent fender benders?

Distance Control Assist System The distance control assist system maintains the distance between the driver's car and the car running in front.

Child Safety Seats Car seats reduce the risk of death by 71% for infants and by 54% for children ages 1-4, and reduce the need for hospitalization by 69% for children ages 4 and under.

Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) A safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.

Crumple Zones What do crumple Zones help us to do? Crumple Zones are structural area in the front and sometimes the rear of the vehicle designed to absorb energy upon an impact in a predictable way.

Crumple Zones Crumple zones allow the front of the vehicle to crush like an accordion. Absorbing some of the impact of the collision and giving some off in the form of heat and sound. The front of the vehicle effectively acts as a cushion that slows the time it takes for the vehicle to come to a complete stop, applying less force on passengers, which could help save their lives.

Physics of Crumple Zones Newton’s first law states that an object in motion will remain in motion, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Example. If a car going 50mph hits a solid wall and comes to a complete stop, the bodies inside will want to continue the in the same direction at 50mph.

Physics of Crumple Zones Passengers will continue to move forward at the same speed until they come in contact with a part of the automobile or another human being, causing injury. Even after a human body comes to a stop in an accident, its internal organs continue to move, slamming against each other because of the impact, often causing serious injury or death.

Physics of Crumple Zones Newton’s second law of motion, force = mass x acceleration, conveys that as the time it takes for an automobile to come to rest or change direction is increased, the force experienced by the automobile (and its occupants) is decreased. Conversely too, if the time to stop is shorter, the force experienced is greater. Crumple zones add time to the crash by absorbing energy.

Solid Steel Block vs. Aluminum Can As the solid steel block collides with the wall, the wall exerts an equal and opposite force on the block, causing the car to rebound in an elastic manner, regaining nearly all of its initial kinetic energy and consequently experiencing a large force.

Solid Steel Block vs. Aluminum Can As an aluminum soda can (or a car with crumple zones) collides with a wall, it does not regain all of its initial kinetic energy. Instead, some of the kinetic energy is transferred into heat and sound energy, resulting in a smaller force experienced by the can. The action of crumple zones lessens the amount of force experienced by the can.

Vehicle Design Create a vehicle that can protect a passenger Passenger will suffer a head on collision

Size Restrictions 6” – 10” Length 2.5” – 4” Width 4” – 6” Height 75 Grams – w/out wheels and axles

Materials Wood Foam Oaktag and Cardboard Wood glue and hot glue Other approved materials

Other Rules CO 2 block must be “accessible” Must be fuel efficient Must be skinned and look like an automobile Person must get in and out of the vehicle Person must sit upright and see out of the vehicle