Adaptation of “Roof Flaps” to Sedan Body Cars to Increase the Probability of Regaining Control at High Speeds

Overview

Speed is a great factor to take into account at the time of an accident, since with only a 1% increase in speed the probability of fatal accidents increases by 4%. For this reason, it is proposed to implement the “Roof flaps” which are a technology introduced in NASCAR, to increase safety during accidents. Can roof flap technology be retrofitted to compact sedans to increase the probability of regaining control at high speeds? If the “Roof Flaps” produce pressure and resistance to the wind, then adapting this technology to sedans will slow down the car and not lift the tires off the ground, increasing the probability of regaining control. An RC was used, which was modified by placing 3 “Roof flaps”. To test the effectiveness of these a maneuver was made; Auto Control was set by accelerating and passing to the left of one cone, then at the next cone making a sharp right turn, then another sharp left turn. The procedure was repeated 5 times and 5 times in reverse with each car. The Experimental Auto regained control 0.21s (9.68%) faster and 0.16m (13.56%) sooner on average than the Auto Control. The data shows that the difference in speed between the cars was not significant (0.03m/s, 2.43% slower). The hypothesis was accepted since the Experimental Auto regained control in less time and distance than the Auto Control. It is expected to work with other RC scales such as 1:24 or 1:10 and 3D digitization to adapt it to real cars.

Competition history

• JSHS 2022 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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