DOI : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19818333
- Open Access
- Authors : Ceylin Melek Asil, Fatma Altun, Birgül Çelikler Sarahmet
- Paper ID : IJERTV15IS042273
- Volume & Issue : Volume 15, Issue 04 , April – 2026
- Published (First Online): 27-04-2026
- ISSN (Online) : 2278-0181
- Publisher Name : IJERT
- License:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Friction-related Efficiency in Hydrogen-powered DC-controlled Cars
Ceylin Melek Asil, Fatma Altun, Birgül Çelikler Sarahmet
Hisar School, Istanbul, Turkey
Abstract – In response to the problems caused by fossil fuels around the world, hydrogen energy, which is part of renewable energy, provides extra sustainability in its use in cars. Although it is connected to a battery like electric vehicles, this car, which also derives a large part of its energy from hydrogen, i.e., water, offers an opportunity for future car designs. The car kit belongs to a competition offered by H2 Grand Prix, and our task as a group is to create innovation through this kit that will enhance the use of the car. In the experiment that will be performed, the car will be examined on three surfaces with different coefficients of friction that are guessed to affect the vehicle’s speed and energy consumption. The purpose of this article is to describe this process and examine the friction factors in DC vehicles independently of hydrogen energy.
Key words: Hydrogen energy, friction factor, DC cars, renewable energy, sustainability, rolling without slipping motion
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INTRODUCTION (Set Up)
In the setup of the DC car provided for the H2 Grand Prix race, not only physical or electronic mechanisms but also the awareness brought about by the process plays a significant role. Today’s rising global temperatures and climate change issues have pushed people to discover consumption methods that cause less damage to nature. In this quest, it is crucial to offer such competitions so that new generations can actively follow the process. In this way, individuals have the opportunity to work on a DC car while gaining a positive awareness for a sustainable world. The competition categories feature different kit models based on age and experience. The kit used in the experiment mentioned in the article is the top-tier Pro model. This model involves more teamwork for setup and development and requires extra effort. (1)
Drawn schematic is the simple description of the electronic connections inside the DC car, these connections are also thought throughout the process with lessons to the team. The schematic shows the 7.2V battery used by the system connected to the Electronic Stability control device also known as the ESC which is a key element of the system. RC system enables the connection with the remote control where it is responsible for servo and the motor. The RC system plays 2 different roles in the remote. (2)
First is the servos control which is connected to the front right wheel of the car and the movement of the car. Servos connection is a mechanic process which needs very detailed work for the wheels to be facing perfectly to the front (not right or left). This is a key organization since the wheels are the main element that affects the friction.
Second is the motor’s velocity. The remote control is able to set fixed rates to factors such as End point, exponential, dual rate etc. which sets more standardized testing between the surfaces as these values will be kept constant. In addition, tests will be done in full speed (which is minimized by the controller to get accurate results) in order to prevent the differences that might be caused by the drivers hand giving different speed values to the car which must be avoided to perform the experiment.
By this context, controlled variables are all of the speed values given to the car, servos (wheels) direction, the car body, tires and battery voltage as these factors might affect the results in unwanted context. The only independent variable is the surface to the coefficient of friction where the energy consumption and moving speed are dependent on it. A difference between the given speed by the controller and the real speed is expected since mechanical energy will vary due to the loss by friction and air resistance. On the other hand, loss of air resistance must be ignored to get a final result since it is not possible to change this factor, still the environment will be kept constant and indoors to lower this effect. By these values, the aim of the experiment is to understand if the different values of friction will affect the energy consumption as the hypothesis thought is that the higher coefficient of friction will cause a better and higher translational acceleration value as it will provide a better grip too. (3)
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TECHNCAL SPECIFICATIONS
To provide energy to the developed car, Hydrogen Fuel Cells are used. By a basic explanation, water is used in order to charge these cells. Inside the cell, cathode and anode sides are divided between oxygen and hydrogen atoms where the rest of the water comes out as the waste material. (4) Inside a PEM fuel cell, also known as the Proton exchange membrane, where electrodes are separated, hydrogen enters from the anode side where pure oxygen enters from the cathode. This division provides the negative and positive sides of a basic description of a cell. Furthermore, PEM only allows single protons to pass down which allows the hydrogen to pass to the other side while separating it from its lone electron. (5) These built up electrons build the current inside the cell forming an electric energy as they pass down from the wire provided inside the cell. It is practical and easy to recharge these cells but on the other hand, inside the competition done by H2 Grand Prix, recharging these cells is not possible during the race. By this factor, it is extremely important to use energy efficiently as it is also one of the main aims of the event itself by the aims of renewable energy. For this reason, the performed experiment aims to find better ways to sustain the car’s velocity by the factor of friction.
Friction Equation:
Energy loss as a result of the wrong use of static friction is the main factor of having the maximum efficiency.
Even if there is resistive force due to air resistance too, this experiment aims to keep this factor the same by using the same, closed environment where it will be possible to compare a change in total product. The motion of the wheels is called rolling without slipping therefore there will be both translational and rotational factors of the data collected in order to calculate the total energy of the car.
Using up most of the energy on rotational motion would lower the translational movement of the car from the conservation of mechanical energy. Our aim will be to compare the effect of friction on this system as by the equation provided before, in the same object with the same angle of surface (that keeps the normal force constant), friction force will only depend on the coefficient of friction that differs by the contact of the surface with the wheel and ground. Changing either of these factors will also have an effect on the coefficient of friction. It is known that this factor gets larger, increasing the friction with more rough surfaces. Therefore in the experiment, values of the net force will be compared by some rough surfaces like a rug and a smoother surface like a tile plain. Even if only the surfaces are changed in this experiment, it also provides an explanation of how the design of a car wheel affects the energy provided too.
Kinetic energy of a rolling without slipping object may be observed by the following formula above. This formula also proves the relationship that is mentioned as well as matching with the hypothesis.
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EXPERIMENT – COLLECTED DATA
High friction coefficient: (Graph 1)
High Friction coefficient: (Grph 2)
Trial 13:
2.78
8.36
1.669
Trial 14:
3.724
7.38
1.357
Trial 15:
3.576
11.26
1.193
15 trials were made
Experiment al – raw data:
(Acceleratio n (m/s^2))
– maximum
Graph 2
Tile
Rug
Epoxy – vinyl flooring
Trial 1:
4.791
12.601
9.347
Trial 2:
5.101
12.387
10.479
Trial 3:
4.041
11.323
9.002
Trial 4:
4.290
12.323
9.036
Trial 5:
4.431
10.917
8.524
Trial 6:
3.907
10.098
8.448
Trial 7:
3.585
11.375
9.280
Trial 8:
4.035
11.436
8.920
Trial 9:
3.285
12.160
7.980
Trial 10:
3.899
11.442
8.552
Trial 11:
4.410
10.354
8.753
Trial 12:
4.643
11.127
9.338
Trial 13:
4.245
10.824
9.114
Trial 14:
5.580
9.730
8.571
Trial 15:
4.991
14.212
9.081
Provided graphs are some example samples of how experimental data was collected using a motion sensor to measure mainly the acceleration using vernier graphical analysis. Graph 1 shows a simulation done by driving the mini hydrogen car on tile surface, while the data collected on Graph 2 was when the car was on a rug, (place to provide a higher friction coefficient). Lastly, the third surface was an epoxy surface with a vinyl flooring. This information was
done by getting the site where the surfaces were purchased from as a basis. (6) Rest of the data set with the maximum acceleration points.
15 trials were made
Experimental – raw data:
(Acceleration (m/s^2)) – average
Graph 1
Tile
Rug
Epoxy – vinyl flooring
Trial 1:
3.48
10.296
1.24
Trial 2:
3.192
8.908
2.189
Trial 3:
2.912
8.056
1.988
Trial 4:
3.096
8.868
1.139
Trial 5:
3.076
7.976
1.447
Trial 6:
2.888
8.224
1.444
Trial 7:
2.62
8.764
1.552
Trial 8:
3.116
8.632
1.852
Trial 9:
2.424
8.22
1.316
Trial 10:
2.892
8.16
1.614
Trial 11:
3.18
7.368
1.486
Trial 12:
3.096
8.768
1.643
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USING AN AI MODULE TO ANALYZE THE SURFACES
Surfaces chosen:
Tile
Rug
Epoxy – vinyl flooring
-
Tile (Stone/Ceramic Composite)
A crystalline like structure is formed via using sand, clay and feldspar. By forming an homogenous compound and compression technique the tile surface is obtained. Sooth of math tiles lie between 0.40-0.50 on their coefficient of friction. From this data it can be concluded that a smooth tile type has been used, more likely a glossy smooth surface. Even if there are many tile types, it is mostly known that the coefficient of static friction depends on the material and the roughness itself too. Therefore, it is also very important to understand the difference between presence and absence of wetness/water as well as how it will affect the results. In this example, it has to be clarified that the surface used was dry.(7)
-
Rug (Polypropylene or Nylon Fiber)
Most rugs are made of Olefin or Nylon Polymers textiled on latex surfaces to keep them together. Therefore the roughness of the material must be analyzed in two different surface structures; at the top being a woven carpet with a yarn surface, and where it is woven as at the bottom. (8) Rug surfaces are much thicker and more complex due to yarn structures than tile is. Therefore, They are easily determined to have a greater coefficient of static friction due to their complexity. Rug surfaces are mostly in between 1.00-1.20 friction coefficients. In this example, we are working with a very dense type of carpet with different patterns which might affect the friction coefficient accordingly. Fibers most of the time act like hooks to the materials it is engaging with therefore the structures analysis is also determined by mechanical interlocking too. (9)
-
Epoxy-Vinyl flooring (Polymer Composite)
Epoxy is usually a “sandwich” like structure with PVC, also known as polyvinyl chloride, plasticizers and an Epoxy resin at the top. These floor structures are more similar to plastic and not as stone like as tile surfaces. These surfaces are mostly used to make up a softer surface in the used areas. It is also known that even if this is not just limited to vinyl flooring itself, when different flooring types are compared the surfaces covered with this flooring type decrease friction values due to its very smooth structure even on tile (vinyl work like a cover on to the floor itself). (10) Since in this example we are working with an epoxy floor which is a polymer, the structure will be flat on the molecular level too. (11) From these examinations, it is thought that this floor type’s static friction coefficient will be way lower down to 0.75 to 0.90.
-
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MORE DATA AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXPERIMENT
All Data Set:
measured velocity graphs m/s to s: used to find the acceleration
-
axis: time (s)
Data set 1 – measured on tile surface
Data set 2 – measured on rug surface
Data set 3 – measured on epoxy surface
Y-axis: velocity (m/s)
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Surface
Mean a (max) (m/s2)
Median a (max) (m/s2)
Tile
4.331
4.290
Rug
11.487
11.375
Epoxy-Vinyl
8.970
8.920
-
-
EVALUATION
As it is seen from the table too, there is a drastic difference between the low and high friction coefficient sets. On the other hand, data shows a positive correlation between the acceleration, and the coefficient of friction. Therefore, this test has been useful to see the different outcomes from the thought hypothesis. Even if the provided calculations and equations are true, something more fascinating took place and showed the daily usage of car wheel designs. This gave off an outcome that the friction between the surfaces of the floor and car is designed to help the forward movement of the car.
In the experiment, Rolling without skidding motion examination was approved and the differences of accelerations is seen to be due to translational motion of the car. Increasing the static friction by a lot uses too much energy on the rolling motion, limiting translational motion that is related to the forward acceleration of the car. Another factor that might be affecting the results between different surfaces is that this situation demonstrates how the turning motion of the wheels contributes to the forward force. The friction factor involved in a rotating object plays a role in enabling that turning motion. This allows the car to continue moving without skidding. This time, if the static friction factor is reduced too much, changing the coefficient of friction, the vehicle automatically struggles to perform the same rotation, increasing the likelihood of skidding. Skidding is a problematic situation since it causes a total loss of traction of the car. (12) For this reason, although friction is thought to hinder forward movement, when friction occurring in interaction with the ground is considered, it contributes to spinning movement. (13) Wheel designs have also been modified in this way because, instead of a smooth wheel, a material that grips the ground better is preferred.
When examining the graphs, the slowing down of acceleration as friction decreases is related to the wheels losing traction. Therefore, more force will be required to achieve the same acceleration or speed in the same amount of time. This situation leads to unnecessary energy loss. In a competition focused on energy conservation, where the use of hydrogen fuel cells is limited, choosing smoother wheels would be a poor choice as it would prevent traction. The reason for this is the desire to achieve greater efficiency with less distance traveled in order to save energy, and the primary force used to achieve this desire comes from the wheel and the rotational movement.
When the values provided by the data are calculated statistically, it is seen that the mean and median provided by the acceleration yield higher values on surfaces with high friction. Contributing to the analysis reached in these statistical calculations, this explains why the wheels are designed to support forward movement.
Comparing the coefficient of friction:
In order to calculate the coefficient of static friction; we must use the torque formula assuming rotational inertia of a wheel is MR^2.
We can start our calculations with the main rotational motion formula which is:
And as linear acceleration is written as the rotational acceleration multiplied by R, the radius of the wheels cancels out when inertia is also put to the formula. Therefore the equation will come down to:
From here we must move to the static friction’s regular formula where normal force can be concluded as the weight since the surfaces used are all plain and they dont have a value of angle to separate up the normal force. This formula given is only true for the maximum value of static friction as static friction is not a perfectly constant value. To find the maximum value, we need to observe the moment where the
friction transforms from static to kinetic, and this transformation moment will occur as the car slips after a while because of kinetic friction. The reason why maximum acceleration was used instead of the average is because the experiment wants to observe this moment where the static friction will be at its maximum as well.
As:
When masses are also canceled out, the coefficient of static friction can be found by simply dividing the maximum acceleration by the gravitational constant (g=9.81).
General formula used:
=
Tile:
Rug:
Epoxy:
By the found different coefficients of frictions it is possible to say a direct relationship is observed between the maximum acceleration of the car and the friction that is affecting the rotational motion of the wheels. This was caused because of the mechanical energy usage of the car divided into linear and rotational as talked about before.
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CONCLUSIONS
As a result, the hypothesis is proved to be right since it is seen that a higher coefficient of friction is leading to a higher average acceleration value too. By this, it has been observed that when friction with the ground is reduced excessively, the wheels cannot grip the ground sufficiently, leading to a risk of skidding as well as the highly use of rotational energy causing less translational movement to occur. The experiment has been effective in examining the
nature of rotational motion and its connection to physics. Based on the results, it was decided not to make any changes to reduce surface friction, and innovative wheel designs are also supported in this context.
The correlation between excessive friction and excessive acceleration is a ground-related issue. Nevertheless, it is thought that reducing friction beyond the wheel-surface relationship for example in the motor system will also reduce energy loss in terms of formulas. This idea has also opened up another research topic, enabling a new experiment.
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