Quote:
Originally posted by DaBruteForceGuy
We have tremendous pulling power. The mainly comes from our using the 2 chipuas and 2 drillas at the same time. BUT the reason for our optimal usuage of all the power is our treds, which (when on the ground) give us upwards of 200 sq. inches of traction. So, we not only would be able to stay on the incline, but i think that we could prolly push up with our stregnth
maybe i'll try it.
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Traction has (almost) nothing to do with surface area. Traction is directly proportional to the normal force of an object (F=uN). While your treads probably had a high u (mu), the contact area did not increase your traction.
I do say almost nothing to do with surface area because traction will increase in cases where you actually have the one object mesh with the other (think of the brushes that were used effectively by some teams this year). In those cases, area coverage does matter. In most cases, it has little to do with the traction of a given robot.
Yes, the whole idea is counter-intuitive. This is, however, how it works. Surface area does make a difference for turning however. But it's fairly unrelated to the topic at hand.
Matt