Heavy Military Land Vehicle Mass Properties Estimation Using Hoisting and Pendulum Motion Method

Mass properties such as the centre of gravity location, moments of inertia, and total mass are of great importance for vehicle stability studies and deployment. Certain parameters are required when these vehicles need to be arranged inside an aircraft for the carrier to achieve proper mass balance and stability during a flight. These parameters are also important for the design and modelling process of vehicle rollover crash studies. In this study, the mass properties of a military armoured vehicle were estimated using hoisting and pendulum method. The gross total weight, longitudinal and vertical measurements were recorded by lifting the vehicle using a mobile crane and the data were used to estimate the centre of gravity. The frequency of vehicle oscillation was measured by applying swing motion with a small angle of the vehicle as it is suspended on air. The centre of gravity and mass moment of inertia were calculated using the vector mechanics approach. The outcomes and limitations of the approach as discussed in details.

The Effect of Road Shoulder and Weather Conditions on the Occurrence of Rollover Crashes in Two-lane Highways

Rollover crash is a type of dangerous crash that occurs often in two-lane highways. Therefore, this study evaluates the effect of road shoulder and weather condition on rollover crashes. Crash data show that 8,609 crashes were recorded from 2006 to 2009 on six two-lane highways located at the center of Iran. This data contains 1860 rollover crashes. Rollover crash in this paper not included the head on crashes and fixed object crashes. Therefore the rollover crashes are only single vehicle crashes. Binary logit was selected for modelling since there were two possible outcomes: rollover crashes and other crash types. The variables of the final model include highway class, road shoulder width, as well as rainy, snowy, foggy and night conditions. The modeling results show that rainy and foggy variables, with coefficients of 0.731 and 0.719 respectively, had the greatest effects on rollover crash occurrence. Also, road shoulder width and night conditions, with coefficients of 0.221 and 0.184 respectively, had the least effects on rollover crash occurrence. Afterward, sensitivity analysis was performed on all the independent variables, and the results show variable variation and indicate that the probability of rollover crash occurrence is 21.29 % on the mentioned highway.

The Effects of Curtain Airbag on Occupant Kinematics and Injury Index in Rollover Crash

Background. Occupant injuries in rollover crashes are associated with vehicle structural performance, as well as the restraint system design. For a better understanding of the occupant kinematics and injury index in certain rollover crash, it is essential to carry out dynamic vehicle rollover simulation with dummy included. Objective. This study focused on effects of curtain airbag (CAB) parameters on occupant kinematics and injury indexes in a rollover crash. Besides, optimized parameters of the CAB were proposed for the purpose of decreasing the occupant injuries in such rollover scenario. Method and Material. The vehicle motion from the physical test was introduced as the input for the numerical simulation, and the 50% Hybrid III dummy model from the MADYMO database was imported into a simulation model. The restraint system, including a validated CAB module, was introduced for occupant kinematics simulation and injury evaluation. TTF setting, maximum inflator pressure, and protection area of the CAB were analysed. Results. After introducing the curtain airbag, the maximum head acceleration was reduced from 91.60 g to 49.52 g, and the neck Mx and neck Fz were reduced significantly. Among these CAB parameters, the TTF setting had the largest effect on the head acceleration which could reduce 8.6 g furthermore after optimization. The neck Fz was decreased from 3766.48 N to 2571.77 N after optimization of CAB protection area. Conclusions. Avoiding hard contact is critical for the occupant protection in the rollover crashes. The simulation results indicated that occupant kinematics and certain injury indexes were improved with the help of CAB in such rollover scenario. Appropriate TTF setting and inflator selection could benefit occupant kinematics and injury indexes. Besides, it was advised to optimize the curtain airbag thickness around the head contact area to improve head and neck injury indexes.

Designing Roof Structures for Real-World Rollovers

This paper presents a real world rollover accident involving a common make and model sport utility vehicle, or SUV, analyzed using a well-validated, publicly available finite element analysis, or FEA, model of the same vehicle. The FEA model was utilized to evaluate the loading conditions of a real-world rollover accident that had previously been reconstructed using standard engineering techniques. Iteration of the conditions of the finite element, or FE, simulation to match the damage observed in the subject vehicle provided a quantification of the rollover crash loading. Once the damage pattern of the real world accident was achieved in the FE simulation, reinforcement techniques utilizing changes to the material properties and thicknesses of selected roof structure components were used to represent a re-designed roof. The re-designed roof improved intrusion resistance by more than 80% with a minimal weight penalty.

Virtual Testing Applied to Door Latch Performance Evaluation

Vehicle door latch minimum force capability testing presently utilizes uniaxial quasi-static loading conditions created toward the middle of the last century. Current technology enables more sophisticated virtual testing of a broad range of systems. Door latch failures have been observed in vehicles under a variety of conditions. Typically these conditions involve multiple axis loading conditions. The loading conditions presented during rollovers on passenger vehicle side door latches are not currently evaluated. Background on these conditions is reviewed. Rollover crash test results, rollover crashes and physical FMVSS 206 latch testing are reviewed. In this paper, the creation and validation of a passenger vehicle door latch model is described. The multi-axis loading conditions observed in virtual rollover testing at the latch location are characterized. These loads are then applied to the virtual testing of a latch in both the secondary and primary latch positions. The results are then compared with crash test and real world rollover results for the same latch. The results indicate that while a door latch in the secondary latch position may meet minimum existing uniaxial horizontal plane loading requirements, the incorporation of multi-axis loading conditions may result in failure of the latch to accomplish its intended purpose at loads substantially below the FMVSS 206 uniaxial failure loads. The findings suggest the need for reexamining the relevance of existing door latch testing practices in light of the prevalence of rollover impacts and other impact conditions in today’s vehicle fleet environment.