REPEATABLE DYNAMIC ROLLOVER TEST PROCEDURE WITH CONTROLLED ROOF IMPACT. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

Abstract

Rollover crash and accident tests identify significant roof-to-ground impacts adjacent to the vehicle occupant as a potential cause of severe injuries. These tests also often provide information on dummy kinematics, as well as vehicle translational velocity, roll rate, and point of impact with the ground. However, there has not been a method to replicate these impact conditions through controlled dynamic rollover testing. In this chapter, from a comprehensive text on occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers, the authors report on a new test device that is repeatable. The tests enables researchers to begin each test with the desired root-to-ground impact conditions as a test input. The test method releases a rotating vehicle onto the ground from the back of a moving semi-trailer. The roll, pitch, and yaw angles, translational and vertical velocities, and roll velocity of the vehicle for the first roof-to-ground interaction is repeatable from test to test. The motion of the vehicle after the first impact is not repeatable, however. In addition to the standard onboard and off-board vehicle documentation, camera coverage from the rear of the semi-trailer is also now available.