Car Design and Safety Flashcards
when brakes are applied to slow the car down, what has happend?
work has been done
what do the breaks do to the car in terms of forces
reduce the cars kinetic energy by transferring nit into heat and sound energy
what is regenerative breaking
make use of the energy what the breaks transfer instead of converting the energy into heat as the car breaks
how does regenerative breaking work?
it uses the same system that drives the vehicle to do the majourity of breaking. rather than converting the kinetic energy of the vehicle into heat energy, the breaks put the vehicles motor into reverse. this slows the vehicle down as the motors are running backwards. at the same time the motor acts as an electrical generator converting the kinetic into electrical which is stored as chemical energy in the vehicles battery
in a crash, what happens to momentum?
there will be a big change in a very short time.
what are cars designed to do in a crash
convert the kinetic energy of the car and its passengers in a way that is safest for the occupants of the car. they do this by increasing the time over the momentum change happens.
what are crumple zones and how do they work?
crumple the car up on impact. they are at the front and back and they change the cars kinetic energy into other forms by changing the shape of the car. they increase impact time, decreasing the force produced by change in momentum
what are side impact bars and how do they work?
they direct the kinetic energy of the crash away from the passengers to other areas of the car. they are strong metal tubes fitted in the door panels
how do seat belts work
they stretch slightly increasing increasing the time taken for the wearer to stop. this reduces force acting upon the chest. the kinetic energy is absorbed into the belt whilst stretching.
how do airbags work
slow you down gradually and prevent you from hitting any hard surfaces inside the car.
what determines how powerful a car is?
the size and design of the engine
the more powerful and engine is….
the more energy it transfers from school in every second,so it’s top speed is faster.
