Safety Engineering in Motorsports

[admin]

In the super fast world of motorsports, a fraction of a second’s error could mean winning the race; or crashing out of it.
Such an extreme scenario just goes to show how vitally important it is to keep the driver safe at all times, if not the machine. Racing cars and bikes are rigged with a host of safety features that ensure that the driver comes out of any accident unhurt, if there were one to occur.

Engine failure during any race translates into a potentially deadly situation for the driver or the rider, because even though racing drivers are trained to react unbelievably fast to any situation, an engine failure is out of their control.
Safety engineering gives the driver more confidence during a race, and of course ensures that the car or bike is recovered from any sort of collision or crash during the race. Legendary drivers of the yesteryears have often met with unfortunate accidents; at a time when advanced technology for safety engineering was not available.
Today, before the start of any race, the safety equipment is investigated thoroughly to ensure that car is safe to run at high speeds on the race tracks, and the driver stays unhurt during any major accident.

The racing associations spend millions on testing, design, development of the racing engines, and on safety engineering. In the highly competitive world of motorsports, every competitor tries to outdo the other by pushing the boundaries of perfection, which means that there are high stakes on the table, when it comes to the engine performances during a race. A single component failure could translate into losing the race, which in turn means a loss of millions for the racing team.

There are cutting edge measuring instruments which are used to determine the efficiency and the performance of the engine, along with computer aided simulation research on how the engine would fare on the actual race track.
Such ultra-modern testing devices are not only essential for the boosting of the engine’s performance, but also an essential requirement for engine safety.
There are extremely dangerous hypothetical situations of the engine blowing up in the middle of the race due to internal problems, which expose the driver to serious injury risks.

Safety engineering in the world of motorsports takes in its purview virtual testing of the race car or bike on a computer simulated platform, tyre check at high speeds, aerodynamic design testing, and automated built in systems that keep the driver safe during a critical situation.
Virtual simulated tests are crucial when it comes to the assessment of the car or bike configurations for the race.

The racecar reaches on an average of 250-300 k/hr, which means that the tyre configurations must be tested for optimal performance on track; otherwise they are going to wear out and cost valuable time for the driver. There are important fuel-engineering processes that make sure that the engine is able to meet high endurance races, where failure of the same is just not acceptable.

The most important aspects of safety engineering incorporate the design of the chassis, which is built out of extremely strong multiple layered materials subjected to extremes of temperature and pressure to form a tough shield; ensuring that the driver walks away from even a devastating impact.
No racing car leaves for the track without certified safety tests, which includes assessment of the safety cells, among other things.
The research and development of the aerodynamic design and safety features on the chassis of a race car or bike, is probably the most expensive areas of motor car and bike racing, and is rightly so; because you can always build a new car or bike, but you can never replace the human who drives it.

[ASHSMI]

The importance of this is reflected in the death rates in f1 of a few years ago.The used to be no seat belts,no fire fighting euipment,no fire proof clothing,no survival cell and non existant crash barriers except for the occasional concrete wall.
on top of this the pit lane wasnt seperated from the track but was basically a layby.
I most crashes as there were no seat belts and no roll cages in any crashes the driver was often thrown from the car,this is where many deaths and injuries happened.Also due to the lack of barriers many dies in crashes in to trees,ditches and fences

[Heretic]

What still seems to be an occasional problem is when the roll bar behind the driver sinks in the gravel trap.
It must be difficult to do anything about this because if the gravel was firmer it wouldnt stop cars the right way up.
Also when the cars do roll the hans device stop the driver duckiinto the car.

[ASHSMI]

I presume everything is done with a balance between saftey and likelyhood of a certain accident.The cars for example dont work so well when they hit a solid object backwards but presumably work better head on which is more likely.
Also the likelyhood of a car rolling is balanced against the likelyhood of it needing to be stopped in the gravel,many more cars go off straight then roll.