ipl-logo

The Physics Behind Vehicle Crumple Zones

2060 Words9 Pages

The physics behind Vehicle Crumple Zones

The crumple zone is a constructive feature mainly used, in the front and sometimes rear, in motor vehicles and has recently been integrated into railcars. They have been specifically designed to absorb the energy from the impact of a crash by controlled distortion, which absorbs majority of the impact energy.

Newton’s second law states that “The relationship between the resultant force, Fres, that acts on an object of mass, m, to produce the acceleration, a, of the object is F=ma”. (Year 12 Physics ESA by David Housden). Therefore, as F=ma, Newton said that the greater the mass of an object the more motion (Motion is the change in the position of an object with relation to time. It is defined in terms …show more content…

Momentum (symbol p) is calculated by multiplying the mass, m, and velocity, v, by the use of the formula …show more content…

This is because when a force acts on an object it accelerates it, and thus, the object’s momentum changes. Therefore, a resultant force is the only thing that can change an object’s momentum. A resultant force can change the direction of an object, and therefore, the momentum, as well as changing the speed to change the momentum. However, it is relatively difficult for a resultant force to change the mass of an object. It is possible though. For instance, when a car is accelerating, it is gradually losing its fuel, and the more fuel it loses the more its mass will change. That means that it could be losing momentum as it accelerates, and this will be caused by the resultant force accelerating it in the direction of motion. The loss of momentum is not a certainty because the car would be getting faster (increasing velocity), and therefore, this may cancel out the loss of mass in the form of fuel being burned. However, we live in an imperfect world so it is challenging to get accurate results because on Earth there are consistently forces like gravity or friction acting at all times and creating a resultant force. This resultant force will always result in changing the momentum of an

Show More
Related

Ap Biology Chapter 2 Study Guide

1286 Words | 6 Pages

Kinetic energy is moving energy and can be found through the equation KE=(½)mv². Energy is measured in the units of Joules or j. Potential energy is another form of energy that is energy that has the ability or potential to make matter move once it is released. Energy cannot be destroyed or created, rather is is transformed into other types of energy (for example kinetic to electrical). Mass is also another type of energy (mass energy) and it is just the mass of an object or the energy of being. Chemical changes cause atoms to be altered or changed while physical changes do not affect the chemical state of an object.

Read More

Scientific Revolution Dbq

618 Words | 3 Pages

The formula for the 2nd law of motion is F=ma. (studios). The 3rd law of motion says, “that for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction (force).”

Read More

Egg Drop Lab Report

550 Words | 3 Pages

The result of the force acting causes the object 's velocity to either change speed or direction. In conclusion, the impulse experienced by the object equals the change in momentum of the object, which can be seen in equation Ft = m Δ

Read More

More Than Words: Comics As A Means Of Teaching Multiple Literacies By Dale Jacobs

184 Words | 1 Pages

In this sense, the term

Read More

Crumple Zone Investigation Report

894 Words | 4 Pages

Compression strength is the capacity of a material to withstand loads tending to reduce its size. The foam was the best at reducing force and achieving a low deceleration time due to the physics behind the materials compressive strength. After compressed due to the possessed kinetic energy of the cart obtained by its motion from the angled track, the foam is compressed relative to its relaxed position to the extent when there is an increase in the elastic potential energy which is stronger than that of the kinetic energy of the cart. Forcing the cart in the opposite direction, as explained in Newton’s third law, for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction, creating a rebound effect. As none of the materials crumpled to absorb the entirety of the force involved the collision, all materials caused this rebound effect instead of absorbing the entirety of the crash as a real world crumple zone is designed to do.

Read More

Argument Of Federalist 10

345 Words | 2 Pages

As defined

Read More

Physics Of A Hot-Rod Car

579 Words | 3 Pages

So when the car crashes it comes back to Newton’s First law when it hits the surface, it will need a crumple zone. A crumple zone is meant to absorb and distribute force, my idea is to use foam at the front of my cars as a crumple zone, so when the car crashes, the foam will crumple with the car and absorbing the force when you hit the surface of the wall, reducing the chance of

Read More

Chapter 14 Study Guide

601 Words | 3 Pages

In Chapter 14, kinetics of particle, work and energy, we could summary this chapter explain us about the moving particle based on the principle of energy that involves force (F), velocity (v) and displacement (s). By these kinds of units, we could solve the problems that involve power (P) and efficiency (ε). In this chapter also explained us about conservation of force and theory of conservation of energy due to solve the problems of kinetic energy. While in Chapter 18, kinetics of rigid, work and energy, we could summary this chapter almost got the same explanation by the chapter 14 which was it contain about work of force, kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy, conservation of energy and principle of work and energy. If we study deeply about these two chapters, we could get the similarities and differences about the work and energy by the

Read More

Propellantless Spaceflight Research Paper

1025 Words | 5 Pages

Generating just 0.02 milliNewtons (mN) of thrust from an 850 W magnetron in what was apparently a reactionless engine, the EmDrive peaked the interest of the scientific community. The law of conservation of momentum states that in a closed system, momentum is consistent, that is, the net force (F) is zero for the system. The EmDrive appeared to break this law making it a physical impossibility. Although further research will claim this untrue, the issue remains contentious to this

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Using Crumple Zones

881 Words | 4 Pages

Since Barenyi knew that force was equal to mass multiplied by acceleration he figured out a way to diminish the force. Since you can’t change the mass of a vehicle mid collision you have to change the acceleration, in order to do this you need to increase the time in a collision. That is where a crumple zone comes into play, because the vehicle crumples instead of maintaining its initial shape the collision will take longer minimizing the force exerted onto the passengers. Often vehicle frames are designed to fold in on themselves and the materials surrounding the engine are built to absorb the impact before it reaches the solid engine which won’t

Read More

Physics Of Golf: Newton's Laws Of Surfing

1021 Words | 5 Pages

It is equal to the product of mass and velocity. An object that is moving has momentum. Momentum is increased when the velocity or mass is increased. Mass and velocity have an equal effect on the momentum. If more force is applied to an object, it has a greater velocity, resulting in an increased momentum.

Read More

John Philoponus Arguments On Aristotle's Theory Of Motion

344 Words | 2 Pages

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (8 June 2007) states that in approximately 530 AD a philosopher named John Philoponus developed an early concept of momentum to comment on Aristotle’s Physics. Aristotle had claimed that everything that moves must be kept moving by something. For example, when you throw a ball it must be kept moving by the motion of the air. Philoponus however, believed that a force acted on an object when you threw it. Most Philosophers, although sceptical, accepted this theory of motion until the time of Galileo.

Read More

Rube Goldberg Machine Essay

495 Words | 2 Pages

The first law states that a moving object will remain in motion and a resting object will remain at rest until changes by an unbalanced force. The second law of motion says that the greater the mass of an object, the more force is needed to acceralte it. According to Newton’s third law of motion, there is always an equal and opposite re-action that occurs as an effect of every action. Isaac Newton’s laws of motion are important in the world of physcs because they are accurate, relate to almost everything that we experience in our daily lives, and tell us how things

Read More

How Can Atmospheric Pressure Affects How Objects Work With Motion

528 Words | 3 Pages

Velocity is a special kind of speed that is a vector.(2015) Velocity is the rate of motion in a specific direction. (2015) When you work on velocity you will use a lot of vectors.(2015) Acceleration is the other main kind of speed. Acceleration is when in an object starts speeding up.

Read More

Physics Applied To Soccer Essay

812 Words | 4 Pages

Imagine a ball sailing into the back of the net and the crowd going wild. Do you ever wonder why it got there with such power? Of course you do! Think of Newton’s First Law of Motion. It states that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object at motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside, unbalanced force.

Read More

More about The Physics Behind Vehicle Crumple Zones

Related Topics

Open Document