Energy lost by speeding car while drinving on a soft surface

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emusheyev
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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
 

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Welcome to PF!

Hi emusheyev! Welcome to PF! :wink:
emusheyev said:
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:
 
i have no material in mind
but i would like to test with different materials to find which one causes the least energy loss
 
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".