- #1
newhavendave
- 5
- 0
With the increase of devastating accidents involving buses with head on collisions, I feel they need to be designed safer. I am on a mission to start a non-profit agency to design and manufacture composite exoskeleton's to retrofit buses. I don't know about you, but I would be scared to put my kids on a school bus after Google Image searching "school bus accident"! There is an extremely high quantity of momentum in a bus crash, and there are no crash protection features, this astonishes me and there is no reason for not updating bus design from how they were made 50+ years ago. See attached photos of some bus accidents this month.
I would like to design the composite structure to be impact, shear, and tear resistant. This is to spread the impact load over the entire front of the bus AND keep the roof from peeling back and allowing the obstruction to enter. My first design I propose using an epoxy resin to bond layers of Avistrap (very cheap, high tensile strength). I have over 2 miles of 1.25" 3600# b/s polyester strap. To prevent this fabric from shearing I will be considering sandwiching the strap fabric layer between sheetmetal (heavy and awkward). Then the molded structure will be affixed to the front of the bus with adhesive and self tapping screws. Unfortunately this design does not provide much impact resistance. I would like to keep the structure as thin as possible, less than 1 inch.
So if you get the picture of what I am trying to accomplish, please post suggestions for design, materials, etc, etc.. I am very open and willing for advice. Ask away!
-Dave
B.S. ME, Class of 2008, summa cum laude
I would like to design the composite structure to be impact, shear, and tear resistant. This is to spread the impact load over the entire front of the bus AND keep the roof from peeling back and allowing the obstruction to enter. My first design I propose using an epoxy resin to bond layers of Avistrap (very cheap, high tensile strength). I have over 2 miles of 1.25" 3600# b/s polyester strap. To prevent this fabric from shearing I will be considering sandwiching the strap fabric layer between sheetmetal (heavy and awkward). Then the molded structure will be affixed to the front of the bus with adhesive and self tapping screws. Unfortunately this design does not provide much impact resistance. I would like to keep the structure as thin as possible, less than 1 inch.
So if you get the picture of what I am trying to accomplish, please post suggestions for design, materials, etc, etc.. I am very open and willing for advice. Ask away!
-Dave
B.S. ME, Class of 2008, summa cum laude