Volvo’s Useless but Entertaining Water Cannon
Volvo has produced something completely useless to the general public, but it’s very entertaining to watch. The 500 MPH Water Cannon, produced by Ford’s Safety Center, is actually an ingenious invention used to test side impact, showing the safety in Volvo vehicles.
The 500 MPH cannon imitates the side impact of another car without actually destroying any cars in the process. So no damaged car, no danger to a test driver. Researchers have said “the new test could prove useful in the development of next-generation stability control technology.”
The system is built around a Martin Engineering Hurricane Cannon, a high pressure water cannon normally used in mining operations. It has been modified and mounted to a static frame which is attached to the cargo bay of a chopped up Volvo V70R. An orange tank is pumped up with 135 PSI of shop air, the end of the silver tube is sealed up with a sheet of plastic and the safety gate is closed. In operation that gate is opened up and the plastic holds back the water. The gate is there to prevent anyone from being injured should the thing accidentally go off. That pipe is filled with ten gallons of water and then shot out during a practice drive. pretty nifty! A great snag from Jalopnik.
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