WE HAVE all become more familiar with road salt as a result of the recent big freeze but Ireland already had home-grown experts on the subject.
Three students at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibitionunder way at the RDS have developed a new road salt mix that would have worked better and cost less than the mixes now being used by local councils.
Transition-year students Emily Long (16) and Fionnuala Kennedy and Julianne O’Connell (both 15) developed an effective salt mix for Irish conditions that would also have less of an environmental impact. They are students at Presentation Secondary School, Thurles, Co Tipperary.
“We knew there were alternative salts and we wanted to know more about them,” said Fionnuala. “We also knew they had an effect on vegetation and bridges,” added Emily. These salts are already available in various mixtures for use by councils.
Each has different characteristics – for example being able to melt ice quickly, keeping road surfaces from refreezing down to - 18 degrees, and causing less harm than ordinary salt (sodium chloride).
The students began a detailed study of the various salts, discovering that molasses is sometimes used in combination with salts to de-ice Canadian roads. While it is possible to protect roads down to - 18 degrees, they looked at salt formulations better-suited to Ireland.
The result? A salt mixture that could de-ice faster, cause less corrosive damage and keep roads clear at the temperatures experienced across the country last week.
Leah Mooney looked at road safety from a different perspective: visibility when walking at night. The 13-year-old second-year student from St Mary’s High School, Co Down, wanted an effective yet stylish way to be seen on the roads. She became conscious of the dangers one night when walking home on a country road after dark. “My mum and dad were working late and I had to bring home a cake,” she said. She became aware of how difficult it was for drivers to see her, when suddenly she got an idea for her project, entitled “E-lite clothing”.
She was unimpressed with the usual high-vis jackets “which are too bulky and don’t match the school uniform”, she said. “I wanted a fashionable way for teenagers to be seen after dark. I liked the way that neon signs light up and wondered if there was a way to light up clothing that way.”
A web search quickly gave her the answer, lengths of bright cord that glowed brightly in a variety of colours when a battery was attached. The cord can be stitched on to an arm band, into a jacket or a school bag, she said.
“We tested it out and the lights could be seen from 60m away. The reflective jackets could only be seen from 20m away,” Leah said.
It can be stitched on to sports gear for those training after dark, and even put on a jacket suitable for a dog to help owner and pet to be seen at night. The cost is not excessive, she believes, with a band-logoed arm band costing €10.
Michaela Begley (13), a second-year student at St Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk, Co Louth, looked at another aspect of road safety: how to reduce the vision-obscuring road spray thrown up by heavy goods vehicles.
This is her second entry to the Young Scientist event. Her first last year was on jet engines so the engineering involved in this project caused her no difficulties. She devised two designs for simple, low-cost add-on metal channels that direct the water spray coming from mud guards off to the sides. She developed a test bed with her father. Michaela found road spray could be reduced by up to 72 per cent using her designs. She is considering engineering as a possible career.