Crumple Zones Research

What are crumple zones?

Crumple zones are parts of a vehicle that are built with special structures inside them that allow them to crumple and deform in a collision. They are made of fibreglass and steel and are mainly built into the front part and the back part of a vehicle since these are the locations most impacts occur although they can also be put on the sides. Crumple zones were first invented in 1953 by the Mercedes-Benz company and their Mercedes-Benz 220se was the first car that it was used on.

Why are they used?

It may seem that by making the body of a vehicle extremely rigid, it would be more resistant in an accident than if it deformed. However, this will cause all the forces present during a crash to be transferred to the occupants of the vehicle, causing many injuries. Crumple zones are built into a vehicle to prevent the force of the impact from being transferred to the occupants in the vehicle by absorbing the energy of the impact before it reaches them. They were designed to take as much force as possible so the occupants as well as the vehicle do not suffer the effects.

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The Physics behind Crumple zones

Crumple zones work according to Isaac Newton’s first law and second law. The first law is - when an object which is moving (in this case a vehicle) will continue to move in the same speed and in the same direction unless another unbalanced force acts on it (like another vehicle or a tree or a wall). When a vehicle is moving at a certain speed, so are the bodies inside it. However, if the vehicle suddenly stops, the bodies will continue to move in the same direction unless something stops them. This would cause several injuries.

Isaac Newton’s second law states - force is equalled to mass multiplied by acc...

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...lse would mean a larger force that will be directed to the occupants. Therefore it would be safer if the two vehicles would collide and crumple up which is why crumple zones are built into vehicles. They decrease the effect of the force in the collision by crumpling, which would less likely lead the vehicle to rebound upon impact and so would decrease the momentum change and impulse.

Conclusion

Crumple zones do save lives and physics has helped us to understand how it works. However, a person would still absorb some force even with crumple zones, which is why you should wear seatbelts and have airbags which will help slow you down. Also, with crumple zones, there is a limit to how much energy they can dissipate and how much collision time they can increase. So in the end, it is all up to you and how safely you drive because crumple zones will not always save you.