Why can the driver get away safely after the car was hit by the waist at F 1 Bahrain Station?

After a short week's rest, F 1 finally ushered in the last three games of the season from last weekend, three back-to-back night games! In the back-to-back races held earlier this season, the team cooperated with drivers and offered many wonderful overtaking shots and classic team tactics to the audience through different racing strategies. When another back-to-back race comes, plus the night race, people are full of expectations for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.

However, this expectation lasted only about a minute after the official start, and was broken by an epic car accident.

When the drivers started the race after leaving the third corner on the first lap, they were still fighting for positions. Grosjean of Haas team collided with Coveyate of Red Bull team in the rear when changing lanes, and the car crashed into the guardrail on one side of the stadium at high speed. The impact force as high as 53G caused the car to directly hit the guardrail and break, and the leaked fuel caused the fire to instantly surround the car and Grosjean sitting in the car.

Fortunately, the crash didn't make Grosjean lose consciousness. He quickly escaped from the cockpit and rushed to the driver Allen? A van? Der？ With the help of the orbital staff, Merwe successfully escaped from the fire. It took only 28 seconds from the collision to leaving the car. After being taken to the hospital, it was confirmed that Grosjean was only slightly burned on his hands and feet, and he could be discharged after a few days of cultivation. This news is also the best comfort for all drivers and staff in the paddock and all fans.

Looking back at the 70-year history of F 1, Grosjean's accidents are very serious, but fortunately, he was only slightly injured. So what saved his life in this accident, and what inspiration can it give to more daily civilian cars?

The most obvious reason why drivers can successfully escape from the fire is the racing clothes they wear. Before 1975, the FIA International Automobile Federation (hereinafter referred to as FIA) issued the Compulsory Certification Clause for Racing Clothes to ensure the safety of racers. However, it was not until 1976 that Niki Lauda was trapped in a burning racing car for the first time, causing extensive burns and almost death, that the racing industry really realized the importance of fire-proof racing clothes.

Modern racing suits are generally made of a material called Nomex, which is a patented product registered by DuPont in the United States at 1967. Nomex material is a good high-temperature resistant and flame retardant fiber, and the racing suit sewn with it can provide the driver with an effective protection time of 12 seconds in a fire at 700℃. All the stitches on the racing suit, even the advertising strip, must meet the standard of "12 second protection time".

In this accident, it took 19 seconds from the time when the car caught fire to when Grosjean climbed out of the car. According to the rules of F 1, the team must design a car that can let the driver get away within 5 seconds. Obviously, this time is almost impossible to achieve in many cases. At this time, the fire suit worn by the driver plays a vital role in protection. Excellent fire protection clothing can resist the raging fire and leave enough escape time for the driver.

Of course, the racing suit only protects Grosso from fire. In almost all accidents, the most important thing is to protect the integrity of the passenger compartment to the maximum extent. In the early F 1 racing car, the driver sat in the cockpit the size of a bathtub as if he were taking a bath. The only difference from bathing is that there is less hot water, and you need to be tied to your seat by a seat belt. Similar designs can still be seen on Cartham.

In 198 1, F 1 introduces a single cockpit in which the driver's cab is arranged. With the improvement of rigid design and material science, single cockpit can withstand more and more impact and is almost indestructible. Including the serious car accident that Senna suffered in 1994 and the accident in Grosjean, the single cockpit has maintained sufficient integrity. In the past decades, only in 2007, Kubica suffered a serial car accident in Canada, in which Kubica's foot was only slightly injured.

When Grosjean's monoblock car passes through the guardrail at an acceleration of 53G, the guardrail is likely to directly contact the driver without the Halo system. Even if the guardrail does not hurt the driver, it is likely to block his escape space. The halo system "pushed" the guardrail well this time, leaving enough escape space for Grosjean.

Due to an accident, the halo system was introduced into F 1 racing car. At F 1 Japan Station in 20 14, Bianchi, who was only 25 years old, crashed his racing car into a trailer being rescued, causing a serious accident. Since 20 18, FIA has forced F 1 and F2 cars to install Halo system to ensure the space at the top of the passenger compartment. Combined with the single cockpit, this system makes the cockpit of F 1 racing car like a cage, which can resist the impact of external objects on people in the car from many angles.

In fact, the same safety principle is also embodied in civilian vehicles. Take the crash test we are discussing at present as an example. Halo system plays the role of A-pillar and ceiling in civil cars. When we are still arguing that the A-pillar is broken at the speed of 64 km/h, the Halo system made of titanium needs to bear 65,438+05 times the net load of the car and the impact force of 20 kg wheels at the speed of 225 km/h. ..

As for the body of civil vehicles, although the design concept of the common cage structure body is completely different from that of the single cockpit, its original intention is to better protect the safety of the occupants in the car. Of course, there is also a single cockpit in civil cars, but due to cost constraints, you can only see it on a few super sports cars.

Now push the time back to 0.0 1s when the crash occurred. A device that has existed for many years but is not so conspicuous also played a vital role in Gro's later escape, that is the Hans system, whose full name is Heidland? Neck? Support, Chinese name is head and neck support system. After losing its protection, in the most serious case, the driver is likely to lose consciousness because of the skull base fracture caused by serious impact.

Or go back to the civilian car, although you don't need to wear a helmet or use the Hans system for daily driving. In most cases, the important task of protecting the neck falls on the headrest of the seat. After the collision and rear-end collision of civil vehicles, the neck injury caused by whipping is called whipping, and the whipping test, which is often neglected in many collision tests, is to test whether the vehicle will whip passengers during collision.

Write it at the end

Grosjean was lucky to avoid such a serious car accident. But all this needs to thank not only the staff who braved the fire to rescue, but also the people who have devoted their energy, time and even their lives to safety for more than 0/00 years since the birth of cars and even racing cars. The accident is only 0% different from everyone's 100%. The accident in Grossen may further promote the safety of F 1 racing cars and even racing cars.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.