energy lost by speeding car while drinving on a soft surface

[emusheyev]

energy lost by speeding car while drinving on a soft surface
how much more energy does a car need to continue driving at a constant speed if it sinks 1cm into a soft material.


car weight 1000kg
car speed 30mph
friction is neglected

[tiny-tim]

Hi emusheyev! Welcome to PF! :wink:
how much more energy does a car need to continue driving at a constant speed if it sinks 1cm into a soft material.

Well, the energy lost goes into deforming the material (rather like rolling resistance, which is mostly the energy lost in deforming the tyres).

We need to know a lot more about the material to answer the question.

Did you have a specific material in mind? :smile:

[emusheyev]

i have no material in mind
but i would like to test with different materials to find which one causes the least energy loss

[queenofbabes]

You're going to do the experiment yourself? Sounds interesting =)

Rubber mats ought to be suitable I think, they're pretty common, and have varying degrees of "softness".