Brake enhancer for emergency stopping
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Subject Author Date
Brake enhancer for emergency stopping Bob 11-20-2005
Posted by Bob on November 20, 2005, 3:46 pm
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I am trying to find the best substance to spray on a tire
to increase the static friction between the tire and the
road, so a vehicle can stop faster in an emergency.

This is for a human controlled vehicle with a computer
controlled collision advoidance system (including cameras,
range finders, etc.).

The idea is to put a small canister of "spray" in the
wheel-well of each braking wheel. When the computer
detects that the vehicle cannot stop soon enough to
avoid a collision, it will release the spray onto
the tire, making the tire more "sticky" and decreasing
the stopping distance.

I am thinking that a combination of some kind of grit
and adhesive might work best, especially since it may
be needed most when the road is wet or icy. But it
should also help if the road is dry.

Some criteria:

1. The substance could either spray on the tire, or on
the road directly in front of the tire.

2. Should be cheap. Experience has shown that people
will pay a big premium for comfort, but not much for
safety.

3. Should work on wet, icy or dry roads. It doesn't have
to work perfectly, or in all conditions, but it must
never make the situation worse.

4. Does not have to be reusable. It can be a "one shot"
deal, and then you have to replace the canister.

5. Should not damage either the tire or the road.
Since it will only be deployed in an emergency, some
mild damage could be tolerated, but the vehicle should
be able to drive away.

6. The substance could be ejected by a gas (freon/CO2) or
by an explosive (like is used in airbags). Or it could
not even be a spray, it could be an adhesive or grid
embedded in a fabric, that deploys like a strip of tape
that wraps around the tire.

This project is still in the brainstorming phase, so please
let me know if you have any ideas of how best to do this.


Posted by J. Clarke on November 20, 2005, 4:16 pm
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Bob wrote:

> I am trying to find the best substance to spray on a tire
> to increase the static friction between the tire and the
> road, so a vehicle can stop faster in an emergency.

You should be asking this question in automotive fora, but I think the
answer would be that there is no such substance.

> This is for a human controlled vehicle with a computer
> controlled collision advoidance system (including cameras,
> range finders, etc.).
>
> The idea is to put a small canister of "spray" in the
> wheel-well of each braking wheel. When the computer
> detects that the vehicle cannot stop soon enough to
> avoid a collision, it will release the spray onto
> the tire, making the tire more "sticky" and decreasing
> the stopping distance.

An existing ABS system would be able to do the same thing--so far none has.

> I am thinking that a combination of some kind of grit
> and adhesive might work best, especially since it may
> be needed most when the road is wet or icy. But it
> should also help if the road is dry.

Good luck.

> Some criteria:
>
> 1. The substance could either spray on the tire, or on
> the road directly in front of the tire.
>
> 2. Should be cheap. Experience has shown that people
> will pay a big premium for comfort, but not much for
> safety.
>
> 3. Should work on wet, icy or dry roads. It doesn't have
> to work perfectly, or in all conditions, but it must
> never make the situation worse.
>
> 4. Does not have to be reusable. It can be a "one shot"
> deal, and then you have to replace the canister.
>
> 5. Should not damage either the tire or the road.
> Since it will only be deployed in an emergency, some
> mild damage could be tolerated, but the vehicle should
> be able to drive away.
>
> 6. The substance could be ejected by a gas (freon/CO2) or
> by an explosive (like is used in airbags). Or it could
> not even be a spray, it could be an adhesive or grid
> embedded in a fabric, that deploys like a strip of tape
> that wraps around the tire.
>
> This project is still in the brainstorming phase, so please
> let me know if you have any ideas of how best to do this.

Forget the robotics--the search for that magic fluid would be a life's work
in itself.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Posted by thetechstore@gmail.com on November 20, 2005, 5:13 pm
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I respect your idea but I think the best posible way to stop a car in
the shortest distance possible with the best handling posible will be a
mechanical solution instead of a chemical solution.


Posted by Bob on November 20, 2005, 6:52 pm
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thetechstore@gmail.com wrote:
> I respect your idea but I think the best posible way to stop a car in
> the shortest distance possible with the best handling posible will be a
> mechanical solution instead of a chemical solution.

Do you have any particular ideas in mind? I would like to hear them.

In modern vehicles the stopping power is limited by the friction
in the tire-road interface. So any improvements fall into one
of two categories:

1. Increase the tire-road friction
2. Something else

In the second category, I thought of a system that would fire a
piton into the road surface, and then reel out a cable that would
slow the vehicle. There are several disadvantages to this: It
would damage the road surface (although much less than the damage
to the vehicle if the collision was not avoided), and the deployed
cable would be a safety hazard if not removed immediately. So the
driver could not just detach from the cable and drive away.


Posted by J. Clarke on November 20, 2005, 7:23 pm
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Bob wrote:

> thetechstore@gmail.com wrote:
>> I respect your idea but I think the best posible way to stop a car in
>> the shortest distance possible with the best handling posible will be a
>> mechanical solution instead of a chemical solution.
>
> Do you have any particular ideas in mind? I would like to hear them.
>
> In modern vehicles the stopping power is limited by the friction
> in the tire-road interface. So any improvements fall into one
> of two categories:
>
> 1. Increase the tire-road friction
> 2. Something else
>
> In the second category, I thought of a system that would fire a
> piton into the road surface, and then reel out a cable that would
> slow the vehicle. There are several disadvantages to this: It
> would damage the road surface (although much less than the damage
> to the vehicle if the collision was not avoided), and the deployed
> cable would be a safety hazard if not removed immediately. So the
> driver could not just detach from the cable and drive away.

Drag chute, retrorocket, all kinds of ways to do this if your vehicle is at
Bonneville with no other traffic for miles around. Now, consider your
piton--the 18-wheeler behind you hits it, blows out a tire, control of the
vehicle is lost, and instead of smashing the front end of your SUV on the
Pinto in front of you you get clobbered from behind by 20 tons of liquid
oxygen or whatever he's hauling.

You need to make up your mind--do you want to work on a robotic system or an
alternative to convetional braking systems? They are different fields of
expertise.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

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