Gopalkrishna Advanced Rural Research Foundation

Academic Curriculum Integration & Experiment Scope

1. Target Student Cohorts (Which Year & Branch?)

This virtual lab experiment is explicitly engineered for Mechanical Engineering (ME), Automobile Engineering, and Aerospace/Structural Engineering undergraduates:

2nd Year Undergraduates: Fits courses in Engineering Mechanics, Kinematics of Machinery, and Strength of Materials (SOM) to study kinetic energy transfer, stress, strain, and material yield limits.
3rd & Final Year Undergraduates: Fits courses in Design of Machine Elements (DME), Finite Element Methods (FEM), Crashworthiness, and Automotive Safety Systems to calculate Factors of Safety (FOS) and deceleration loads.

2. How Many Types of Experiments Can Be Conducted Here?

A wide breadth of modular exploratory experiments can be executed within this single suite by varying input variables:

• Experiment A (Crumple Zone Efficiency Study): Analyze how changing the deformation distance ($0.3\text{m}$ vs $1.2\text{m}$) drastically alters average impact force and occupant G-load survival thresholds.
• Experiment B (Material Selection & Safety Factor Analysis): Test structural behavior under identical impact forces by substituting material yield strengths (e.g., Mild Steel vs. Advanced High-Strength Steels vs. Aluminum Alloys) to evaluate FOS margins.
• Experiment C (Velocity Sensitivity & Kinetic Energy Dissipation): Scale impact velocities from city speeds ($30\text{ km/h}$) to highway speeds ($120\text{ km/h}$) to examine nonlinear kinetic energy scaling ($KE \propto v^2$) and frame failure risk thresholds.
• Experiment D (Restraint & Trigger Calibration): Observe how vehicle deceleration spikes dictate dynamic airbag trigger thresholds and occupant safety containment.