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Explosive Crumple Zone Extender

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This idea utilises a new damper component which contains explosives. It would be a cylinder with the piston initially bolted to the cylinder head with an explosive bolt.

The crumple zone of the car would be attached to the passenger compartment with a number of these rigid damper like devices.

On detecting a large oncoming (re stationary) object, the explosive bolts would fire moving the crumple zone ahead while pre-decelerating the passenger compartment. On impact the hot gases still in the cylinders provide a damper like function to reduce g forces.

bigsleep, Apr 09 2009

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       Reactive armour crash protection [+]
coprocephalous, Apr 09 2009
  

       European safety assessments now consider how safe it is for a pedestrian to be hit, or run over, by a particular brand of car when they test it. Firing your cumple zones at people frozen in the headlights of your hurtling car might offend.   

       Otherwise it's all good. [+]
Aristotle, Apr 09 2009
  

       Basically you're wanting to do the 'deployable bonnet' trick as used on Aston Martins etc. but forwards?
Skrewloose, Apr 09 2009
  

       //you're wanting to do the 'deployable bonnet' trick//   

       No, the idea is meant for head-on car crashes where the entire crumple zone would be shot forwards.
bigsleep, Apr 09 2009
  

       Like an external airbag, then, for the whole (other) car?
jutta, Apr 09 2009
  

       Not for the other car as the total impact of energy would be the same regardless of whether the impacting car would be essentially split into two bodies. This idea just enhances the idea of a sacrificial mass and zone. But actually, maybe it works for both.
bigsleep, Apr 09 2009
  

       On re-reading, you want to fire off this sacrificial mass into the obstacle, controlling the deceleration of the car using the dampers while the crumple zone also does it's thing?   

       Similar idea to when Richard Hammond demonstrated dampers using a piano and bike pumps (tried to find link for a video). My gut feeling is that you'd need an awful long travel on your cylinders to have a big effect on the energy absorption. Still, as the Tesco granny says... Every Little Helps!
Skrewloose, Apr 10 2009
  
      
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