Dynamics: Friction STSE

By Vinum Khan
SPH3U
25/04/2019
Innovation in The Bobsled Design

The recipe to winning a bobsled race isn’t just about a powerful and firm push at the start,

in fact, to win, the recipe comes long before the push off. An that is how innovation in the design

make a bobsled best in speed, steering, and maneuverability.

A good bobsled design ensures that the bobsled takes the most advantage of the natural

forces that help it accelerate and reduce the forces that slow it down. Friction varies depending

on how the bobsled is designed and affects how the bobsled accelerates. To get the bobsled to

move is harder than to keep the bobsled moving. This is because Static Friction; the friction that

prevents an object from moving on a surface is greater, therefore harder to overcome than

Kinetic Friction; the friction that slows down an object moving on a surface. The frictional force

depends on two things: the mass of the object and the type of materials the object is made from

& the surface in contact.

The first sleds used in races were constructed with wooden sleds and were soon replaced

by steel sleds. This change in design came about because the coefficient of friction of steel to dry

snow is less than of wood to dry snow which made it a lot easier to overcome static friction. The

steel material added more mass and the more mass an object has, the greater the momentum.

More momentum makes it more difficult for an object to stop or come to rest. Momentum also

helps overcome the forces of friction and drag. This resulted in faster speeds of bobsleds in

competition. When the steering mechanism was added, the skates changed in shape so that
maneuvering could occur with less loss of speed. This allowed the bobsled to accelerate at much

faster speeds in competition and improved maneuverability.

Affect of Under/Over Inflated Tires on Motor Vehicle Performance

When tires are properly inflated with the right amount, they create minimal friction

against the road and motor vehicles perform best. Proper air pressure in a tire help evenly

distribute the weight of a motor vehicle across the tire, so the vehicle and the tire itself are most

stable. So how does the performance of a motor vehicle change when a tire is under or over

inflated?

When a tire is under-inflated, the frictional force between the rubber tire and the road

significantly increases because more of the surface area (more mass) of the tire on a moving

vehicle is being in contact with the road than it should be. This creates vast amounts of air

resistance or also known as “drag”. With uneven air pressure, the vehicle loses stability which

causes slower speeds, bad turning and stopping resulting in poor performance.

When a tire is overinflated, the excessive air pressure can deform the tire’s shape, and

this results in the loss of traction which decreases the contact the tire has with the road. The

frictional forces between the rubber tire and the road decrease due to the less contact on a

moving vehicle. This makes the tire more vulnerable to damage and the resultant low-quality

performance of the motor vehicle.

Athletic Shoes Soles

The soles of athletic shoes differ depending on the purpose of the shoe because they offer

different advantages for different sports. Some soles allow for more traction and some not so

much, both due to how they are designed and the materials they’re constructed of. For example,
sports like soccer, baseball, football, and golf have soles that have spikes or cleats that dig in into

the dirt for much-needed traction and balance. The sole allows for a higher coefficient of friction,

therefore, more traction which prevents you from losing your balance or slipping. Sports like

basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and rock climbing have shoes that have rubber soles which

provided great grip on smoother surfaces. Bowling shoes have a special type of material on both

sides of the sole and no heel, this allows for more friction to form between the shoes and

alleyway and prevent slipping.

Race Car Tires

Race car tires do not have treads because treads are required to move rainwater out of the

way and racing cars perform on a dry concrete asphalt track so there is no need for treads. The

coefficient of friction is greater with a rubber tire with no tread against a concrete asphalt track,

which allows for greater traction, grip, and control.

Cars have spoilers to increase their traction on the road. Spoilers are a part of a race car

on the back that generates a downward force onto the race car. Normally the only thing pushing

down on the tires and onto the pavement is the weight of a car. If race cars didn’t have spoilers,

the only way to increase the traction would be to increase the weight of the race car or to change

the material the tire was constructed of. The issue with increasing the weight is that it doesn't

help in turning, where you really want to grip. All that excessive weight has inertia, which you

have to overcome to turn, therefore increasing the weight doesn't help at all. The way the spoiler

performs is like an airplane wing but flipped upside down. As a result, the spoiler provides a

downward force increasing the grip better the faster it goes.