Dynamic simulation method for rollover protective structures in engineering vehicles and human injury assessment

Due to the high centre of gravity and complex working environments of engineering vehicles, it is challenging to avoid rollover accidents. Reducing driver injuries caused by rollover accidents remains a focus of engineering vehicle design. This paper proposes a dynamic simulation method for evaluating the performance of rollover protection structures (ROPS) in engineering vehicles and incorporating human injury as an evaluation indicator. A virtual prototype model of a human–vehicle–ground system was established and dynamic simulations used to examine the deformation of ROPS and the degree of occupant injury during rollover events. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method were confirmed through experiments and simulations that included a scaled-down model of a wheel loader and a standard test dummy. This method was used to investigate the changes in overall vehicle motion, ROPS deformation, and the probability of injury to various body parts of a human occupant during rollover accidents involving loaders equipped with ROPS with different lateral stiffness coefficients. The method proposed in this study could provide valuable guidance for the design and improvement of ROPS systems.