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Popping a
Hole in High-Speed Pursuits
Transportation
Originating Technology/ NASA Contribution
NASA’s Plum Brook Station, a 6,400-acre, remote test
installation site for Glenn Research Center, houses
unique, world-class test facilities, including the
world’s largest space environment simulation chamber
and the world’s only laboratory capable of full-scale
rocket engine firings and launch vehicle system level
tests at high-altitude conditions. Plum Brook Station
performs complex and innovative ground tests for the
U.S. Government (civilian and military), the international
aerospace community, as well as the private sector.
Recently, Plum Brook Station’s test facilities and
NASA’s engineering experience were combined to improve
a family of tire deflating devices (TDDs) that helps
law enforcement agents safely, simply, and successfully
stop fleeing vehicles in high-speed pursuits.
Partnership
Phoenix International,
Ltd., of Brookfield, Wisconsin,
has been manufacturing and marketing the MagnumSpike!
spike-lined TDDs to law enforcement since 1986. Up
until the company’s involvement with Plum Brook Station,
spikes were inadvertently being knocked onto the roadways
whenever tires from fleeing cars and trucks were deflated
by the device. This was caused by the enormous impact
created when vehicles are brought to a halt. Cleaning
up these spikes from out of the roadway was problematic
for officers.
Phoenix International needed a mechanism to keep the
spikes in place until they are ready for release. The
small, woman-owned company learned about NASA’s Garrett
Morgan Commercialization Initiative, a program operated
by Glenn that allows minority companies to grow and
strengthen their businesses by leveraging NASA technology,
expertise, and programs. Realizing the valuable assistance
it could provide in improving the MagnumSpike!, the
Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative paired
Phoenix International with Glenn engineer Chip Redding.
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The
MagnumSpike! tire deflation device is designed
to safely, swiftly, and consistently end high-speed
pursuits within a predictable short distance.
It gives law enforcement officers control over
extremely dangerous situations, preventing
property damage and safeguarding not only their
lives, but the lives of innocent bystanders
and the occupants of the pursued vehicles. |
Redding evaluated the MagnumSpike! in order to understand and control the variables
preventing repeatable, reliable performance. His analysis was then transferred
to a Cleveland-based engineering firm that conducted additional tests for precise
measurements of the retention system used to lock in the spikes. Based on the
analyses, both Redding and the engineering firm provided Phoenix International’s
engineers with recommendations on alterations to the mechanism that can provide
a precise, friction-free release of the spikes.
Additionally, the MagnumSpike! was tested at Plum Brook Station, where researchers
concluded that its retention clip could not reliably hold all of the device’s
spikes in place. As a direct result of this assistance, Phoenix International
decided to develop a pin shear method to incorporate into its line of MagnumSpike!
TDDs. Glenn and the Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative granted Phoenix
International a financial award, through a Simplified Technology Transfer Agreement,
to assist with completion of the design, testing, and manufacturing of new, friction-free
retain-release clips that were generated from the new pin shear method.
The financial award was also used for product marketing and promotion of the
device, in addition to further development and initial manufacturing of a new
vehicle stopping product called the StaticStop, which consists of a disposable
spiked wheel chuck that can be used to detain vehicles in routine traffic stops.
“R&D is the lifeblood of what we do,” noted Toranj Marphetia, Phoenix International’s
president and chief executive officer. “The Garrett Morgan Commercialization
Initiative provided us with much-needed expertise to evaluate and measure our
new [MagnumSpike!] mechanism,” she added.
Product Outcome
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One
of hundreds of trucks stopped by MagnumSpike! |
The new, improved MagnumSpike! has been field tested and “pursuit proven” as
the ultimate weapon against high-speed chases. It swiftly and safely stops everything
from 18-wheelers to compact vehicles, even vehicles equipped with new self-sealing
and run-flat tires. (According to tests conducted by the National Institute of
Justice—the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department
of Justice, the MagnumSpike! is the only TDD on the market to consistently stop
vehicles outfitted with these new types of tires.) Decreasing chase time for
police forces increases officer safety, saves lives, and prevents property damage.
“We have used the MagnumSpike! at least 30 times with complete success in ending
the pursuit without injuries or cars getting damaged,” said Gary Miller, sheriff
of Wright County, Minnesota. “From our testing and experience, I can say the
MagnumSpike! is the best. It does the job every time, regardless of vehicle size,”
he added.
Available several sizes and models, the MagnumSpike! can have up to 250, 2.5-inch,
precision-cast, rust-proof spikes, able to withstand multiple high-speed impacts.
Each spike contains three sharp corners. Additionally, a patented choke-proof
design prevents them from getting stuck in the deflated tires.
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The
“wrap and roll” MagnumSpike! model, packed in a soft ballistic nylon
case, is 12 feet in length, weighs 9 pounds, and contains 160 spikes. |
The technology, which also has application in U.S. Department of Defense and
U.S. Department of Homeland Security operations, is currently flaunting an impressive
100-percent safety record and 100-percent take-down record in deflating all tires
that have come across its path. In one unique instance, the MagnumSpike! made
an impact—without making impact. When a fleeing suspect saw the strip of spikes,
he skidded his vehicle to a stop, got out, and surrendered.
Phoenix International anticipates that the improved MagnumSpike! will widen its
market five-fold, leading to a major increase in sales—or, a major “spike” in
business.
MagnumSpike!™ is a trademark of Phoenix International, Ltd.
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