Re: Battery placement

["David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <roden@ald.net>]

On 15 Jan 2002 at 14:24, et@enterprise.net wrote:

> Batteries as the 
> crumplezone is a good idea then?  I'm not convinced.

They used a similar trick on the Tropica and Zebra -- a sort of bulkhead of 
batteries at the front of the vehicle to improve crashworthiness.  

Actually, from what I've heard, batteries crush rather nicely, if messily (valve 
regulated batteries usually don't make the mess).  And as for putting that 
mass out in front where the crash happens -- remember where the inertia is 
concentrated.  Think about what happens to the nail vs. what happens to 
your hand when you swing a hammer or ram it into something.

But -- having all that mass at the ends of the vehicle is not so good for 
handling.  You may need to decide what kind of safety you want.

David Roden
Akron OH USA