Analysis of bus rollover protection under legislated standards using LS-DYNA software simulation techniques

A bus rollover is one of the worst vehicle accidents that can occur. Because of the large numbers of passengers, the casualties in a bus rollover are often high and severe. The compliance with rollover safety standards for buses and coaches is mandated by law. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the physical meanings of regulation number 66 of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE R66) and standard number 220 of the American Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS 220). This comparison was carried out using a LS-DYNA finite-element analysis. After performing a comparative analysis following ECE R66 and FMVSS 220 assessments, the investigation further demonstrated the distortion configuration of the vehicle superstructure through the absorbed energy and its distribution over the vehicle and in sections of vehicle superstructure as well as the violation of the passenger compartment under the rollover testing conditions of both ECE R66 and FMVSS 220. Great differences were found between ECE R66 and FMVSS 220 in distortion configuration, reflecting differences in capability and rollover testing conditions. These findings provide a means of evaluating bus superstructure strength and provide guidelines useful in the assessment of regulations applied to the evaluation of bus rollover strength.     

Structural Optimization for Roof Crush Test Using an Enforced Displacement Method

A roof crush test has been utilized to reduce passengers’ injuries from a vehicle rollover. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 216 and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) perform actual vehicle tests and evaluate the vehicle’s ratings. Nonlinear dynamic response structural optimization can be employed not only for achievement of a high rating but also minimization of the weight. However, the technique needs a huge computation time and cost because many nonlinear dynamic response analyses are required in the time domain. A novel method is proposed for nonlinear dynamic response structural optimization regarding the roof crush test. The process of the proposed method repeats the analysis domain and the design domain until the convergence criteria are satisfied. In the analysis domain, the roof crush test is simulated using a high fidelity model of nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis. In the design domain, a low fidelity model of linear static response structural optimization is utilized with enforced displacements that come from the analysis domain. Correction factors are employed to compensate the differences between a nonlinear dynamic analysis response and a linear static analysis response with enforced displacement. A full-scale vehicle problem is optimized with a constraint on the rigid wall force from the analysis in the design domain.     

Effect of tumble-home on roof strength of a vehicle

This study reports on the effect of vehicle tumble-home (side body inclination) on roof strength. The steep inclination of the side body of a vehicle increases its roof strength. Comprehensive analysis of the impact of high roof strength driven by the steep inclination on dynamic roof strength in rollover is described. Here, we have developed a numerical model using the ADAMS, which is capable of characterizing both of the static and the dynamic roof strength. According to the FMVSS 216 protocol, we achieve the strength to weight ratio (SWR; static roof strength) by applying loading plates to the roof of a vehicle. The Controlled Rollover Impact System (CRIS) allows us to quantitatively characterize the displacements of the top end of A-pillar and B-pillar, thus determining the dynamic roof strength by comparing the results. We demonstrated that the roof intrusion was one of the most critical causes which lead to injuries of occupants fastening seat belts. Our analysis revealed that the increase of the side body inclination of vehicles enhanced the static roof strength whereas it could not reduce the roof displacement (intrusion) in the dynamic rollover.     

实车碰撞试验法规的现状和发展趋势

实车碰撞试验法规主要有美国的FMVSS和欧洲的ECE两大体系，下面碰撞试验法规为FMVSS208、E-CER94，侧面碰撞试验法规为FMVSS214、ECER95，在我国，汽车被动安全性一直是汽车产品较薄弱的环节之一。1999年，我国颁布了第一项汽车技术法规，CMVDR294《关于正面碰撞乘员保护的设计规则》。CMVDR294的颁布表明，我国政府已对汽车的被动安全性有了更全面的评价方法。     

乘用车顶部抗压强度试验及发展趋势

由于交通事故中侧滚翻事故的死亡率非常高,为达到车辆发生侧翻时对乘员的保护,充分考虑我国国情,2011年1月14日,我国正式发布GB26134--2010《乘用车项部抗压强度》国家强制性标准,明确对车身强度试验的准备和实施过程及要求,文章以标准规定的试验方法为主要内容,详细介绍了试验的准备和实施过程,并结合美国联邦机动车法规FMVSS216a提出了汽车顶部抗压强度法规的发展趋势。     

半挂汽车列车高速公路弯道下坡路段运行安全研究（双语出版）

为提升半挂汽车列车在高速公路弯道下坡路段的运行安全，采用TruckSim仿真软件，构建了车辆模型、道路模型和驾驶人动力学仿真模型；基于蒙特卡罗可靠性分析法，分别建立了半挂汽车列车发生侧滑失效、侧翻失效、折叠失效和系统失效的功能函数，并选取设计速度80 km·h^-1的高速公路为研究路段，通过进行大量车辆动力学仿真试验，对不同圆曲线半径、纵坡坡度、路面附着系数、车速和车辆总质量对半挂汽车列车的运行安全的影响进行了数值分析。研究结果表明：半挂汽车列车发生侧滑和侧翻的概率随着圆曲线半径的增加而显著降低，在一般最小半径400 m的情况下，半挂汽车列车发生侧滑失效和侧翻失效的概率趋近于0；随着下坡坡度的增加，半挂汽车列车发生侧滑失效和侧翻失效的概率基本呈线性增长趋势；车速对于半挂汽车列车运行安全的影响尤为显著，当车速均值由60 km·h^-1增加到90 km·h^-1时，发生侧滑失效和侧翻失效的概率分别增加了634倍和336倍；车辆总质量的增加对半挂汽车列车侧翻有显著影响；在路面附着系数较低的条件下，半挂汽车列车的主要事故形态为侧滑和折叠，在路面附着系数较高的情况下，半挂汽车列车的主要事故形态为侧翻。因此，在道路设计中，应避免极限最小半径与陡坡组合，严格限速和限载可确保半挂汽车列车的运行安全性能。     

Measurement of roof deformation caused by vehicle rollover

A vehicle rollover is a critical accident that could have many causes. This paper describes a novel vision-based system for measuring vehicle roof deformation due to a rollover accident. A vision-based measurement system offers an overall view of structural deformation simply at low cost. Our measurement system was constructed using a Kinect camera from Microsoft, a battery, and a remote-controlled recording computer. Color images and distance maps can be obtained using two sensors embedded in the Kinect along with customized software, and the distance from the camera lens to a specific object can be calculated with a simple equation. To test our proposed approach, actual vehicle rollover experiments were conducted and the resulting roof deformations were compared to those indicated by our system. Moreover, cross-sectional image of Apillar was analyzed to calculate bending moment of inertia. From the research results, it was able to show that deformation errors were within 13 mm, and roof deformation was correlated with vehicle type, or vehicle curb weight.     

汽车侧翻试验台非接触式防翻装置的设计开发

为保证汽车侧倾稳定角试验过程中的车辆安全,设计开发了一种用于防止试验车辆发生侧翻安全事故的非接触式防翻装置。该装置通过液压缸驱动防护支撑板,实现支撑板与侧翻试验台上的被试车辆保持一定安全距离的跟随运动,避免车辆达到侧倾稳定临界角时发生侧翻。经现场试验表明,该装置能够实现设计功能,在不影响试验结果的情况下保证车辆安全。     

Effect of vertical and lateral coupling between tyre and road on vehicle rollover

The vehicle stability involves many aspects, such as the anti-rollover stability in extreme steering operations and the vehicle lateral stability in normal steering operations. The relationships between vehicle stabilities in extreme and normal circumstances obtain less attention according to the present research works. In this paper, the coupling interactions between vehicle anti-rollover and lateral stability, as well as the effect of road excitation, are taken into account on the vehicle rollover analysis. The results in this paper indicate that some parameters influence the different vehicle stabilities diversely or even contradictorily. And it has been found that there are contradictions between the vehicle rollover mitigation performance and the lateral stability. The direct cause for the contradiction is the lateral coupling between tyres and road. Tyres with high adhesion capacity imply that the vehicle possesses a high performance ability to keep driving direction, whereas the rollover risk of this vehicle increases due to the greater lateral force that tyres can provide. Furthermore, these contradictions are intensified indirectly by the vertical coupling between tyres and road. The excitation from road not only deteriorates the tyres’ adhesive condition, but also has a considerable effect on the rollover in some cases.     

Effectiveness of ECE R66 and FMVSS 220 standards in rollover crashworthiness assessment of paratransit buses

The main objective of the presented study was to compare the effectiveness of two standard test procedures for evaluating bus roof integrity: the dynamic rollover test according to UN-ECE Regulation 66 (ECE-R66), and the quasi-static symmetric roof loading according the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 220 (FMVSS 220). Both tests were applied to a selected Paratransit Bus. The investigation was carried out primarily using a numerical study backed up by experimental validation tests on components and full scale rollover tests. A sensitivity analysis using LS-OPT? was performed to identify the most important structural components influencing the response of the bus in these two tests. The results obtained from this study show that the final outcome of the crashworthiness assessment of the selected paratransit bus depends on the selection of the evaluation standard. Although the two tests are used for the same purpose of roof integrity evaluation, their results are divergent and may lead to different conclusions. The paper presents a discussion on the effectiveness of both standards in evaluating the rollover crashworthiness.     

概念阶段应用超静定力学规划车顶抗压性能的研究

近几年北美和中国的翻滚事故致死人数和死亡率居高不下,对社会和交通人身安全造成了恶劣影响,而翻滚伤害又与车顶抗压强度有关。应用超静定力学分析法预测各个路径的受力,进而明确关键力学路径,通过梁结构弯矩提高的理论,选取关键力学路径中受压侧的板件厚度作为正交试验的因素,分析各因素对车顶抗压强度和质量的贡献度。研究发现,连接中立柱内板和顶盖中横梁的接头支架对车顶抗压性能的贡献度最大。通过对接头支架进一步的优化设计,在提高车顶抗压性能的情况下,实现轻量化。     

Enhancing roll stability of heavy vehicle by LQR active anti-roll bar control using electronic servo-valve hydraulic actuators

Rollover of heavy vehicle is an important road safety problem world-wide. Although rollovers are relatively rare events, they are usually deadly accidents when they occur. The roll stability loss is the main cause of rollover accidents in which heavy vehicles are involved. In order to improve the roll stability, most of modern heavy vehicles are equipped with passive anti-roll bars to reduce roll motion during cornering or riding on uneven roads. However these may be not sufficient to overcome critical situations. This paper introduces the active anti-roll bars made of four electronic servo-valve hydraulic actuators, which are modelled and integrated in a yaw-roll model of a single unit heavy vehicle. The control signal is the current entering the electronic servo-valve and the output is the force generated by the hydraulic actuator. The active control design is achieved solving a linear optimal control problem based on the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) approach. A comparison of several LQR controllers is provided to allow for tackling the considered multi-objective problems. Simulation results in frequency and time domains show that the use of two active anti-roll bars (front and rear axles) drastically improves the roll stability of the single unit heavy vehicle compared with the passive anti-roll bar.     

基于制动与悬架系统的车辆主动侧翻控制的研究

为提高车辆抗侧翻能力,建立了10自由度整车侧翻动力学模型,应用车辆动力学和轮胎力耦合特性,提出了一种基于差动制动和半主动悬架协同工作的车辆主动抗侧翻控制策略。通过对制动力矩的差动调节和半主动悬架阻尼力的适时匹配,实现对车辆侧翻的有效控制。根据子系统运动特性,设计了制动系统基于滑移率的积分滑模控制器和悬架系统灰模糊控制器。分别对制动、悬架控制及综合控制进行的鱼钩试验仿真结果表明,综合控制策略可有效降低危险时域车辆的侧倾角,相对于单一系统控制进一步提高了车辆抗侧翻能力。     

Rollover mitigation for a heavy commercial vehicle

A heavy commercial vehicle has a high probability of rollover because it is usually loaded heavily and thus has a high center of gravity. An anti-roll bar is efficient for rollover mitigation, but it can cause poor ride comfort when the roll stiffness is excessively high. Therefore, active roll control (ARC) systems have been developed to optimally control the roll state of a vehicle while maintaining ride comfort. Previously developed ARC systems have some disadvantages, such as cost, complexity, power consumption, and weight. In this study, an ARC-based rear air suspension for a heavy commercial vehicle, which does not require additional power for control, was designed and manufactured. The rollover index-based vehicle rollover mitigation control scheme was used for the ARC system. Multi-body dynamic models of the suspension subsystem and the full vehicle were used to design the rear air suspension and the ARC system. The reference rollover index was tuned through lab tests. Field tests, such as steady state cornering tests and step steer tests, demonstrated that the roll response characteristics in the steady state and transient state were improved.     

Investigation into untripped rollover of light vehicles in the modified fishhook and the sine maneuvers. Part I: Vehicle modelling, roll and yaw instability

Vehicle rollovers may occur under steering-only maneuvers because of roll or yaw instability. In this paper, the modified fishhook and the sine maneuvers are used to investigate a vehicle's rollover resistance capability through simulation. A 9-degrees of freedom (DOF) vehicle model is first developed for the investigation. The vehicle model includes the roll, yaw, pitch, and bounce modes and passive independent suspensions. It is verified with the existing 3-DOF roll-yaw model. A rollover critical factor (RCF) quantifying a vehicle's rollover resistance capability is then constructed based on the static stability factor (SSF) and taking into account the influence of other key dynamic factors.

Simulation results show that the vehicle with certain parameters will rollover during the fishhook maneuver because of roll instability; however, the vehicle with increased suspension stiffness, which does not rollover during the fishhook maneuver, may exceed its rollover resistance limit because of yaw instability during the sine maneuver. Typically, rollover in the sine maneuver happens after several cycles.

It has been found that the proposed RCF well quantifies the rollover resistance capability of a vehicle for the two specified maneuvers. In general, the larger the RCF, the more kinetically stable is a vehicle. A vehicle becomes unstable when its RCF is less than zero. Detailed discussion on the effects of key vehicle system parameters and drive conditions on the RCF in the fishhook and the sine maneuver is presented in Part II of this study.     

汽车侧翻和滚翻事故建模研究

分析汽车在侧翻和滚翻过程中的受力状态和轮胎或车身与路面的相互作用方式,建立汽车侧翻和滚翻的运动学和动力学模型,揭示汽车临界侧翻碰撞力与持续作用时间等参数的关系,推导侧翻车辆侧向速度的范围,确定滚筒模型中关键参数的选取方法。事故案例表明模型在实际应用中效果良好、定量准确、直观性强。     

Heavy duty vehicle rollover detection and active roll control

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive study on heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) roll stability improvement technology. The proposed rollover threat warning system uses the real-time dynamic model-based time-to-rollover (TTR) metric as a basis for online rollover detections. Its feasibility for implementation in a HDV rollover threat detection system is demonstrated through vehicle dynamic simulation studies. The research on the development of a rollover threat detection system is further enhanced in combination with an active roll control system using active suspension mechanism to improve heavy-duty trucks’ roll stability both in the static cornering and in emergency maneuvers. It has been demonstrated that the roll stability of typical heavy-duty trucks has been largely improved by the proposed active safety monitoring and control system.     

Characteristic analysis of vehicle rollover accidents: Rollover scenarios and prediction/warning

Rollover accidents are relatively more serious than other types of accidents, so it is important that the safety device functions appropriately. For the safety device to work correctly, a rollover criteria system which can predict a rollover is needed. To Figure out the characteristics of rollover, NASS-CDS was used to statistically analyze the seriousness of accident and passenger injuries in various rollover situations. Typical scenarios for each rollover type were established by referring to the test criteria of NHTSA. Rollovers can be largely categorized into tripped or un-tripped rollover depending on the situation, but there is no method for estimating the velocity of the car in each situation. This paper suggests methods for estimating the car velocity through finding the relationship between car velocity and quarter turns by performing repetitive simulation in established typical scenarios. Additionally, simple physical models for rollover were developed and each model was analyzed to find the rollover criteria for each type. The rollover criteria were verified by simulating various rollover situations. The rollover criteria suggested would be helpful in predicting a rollover and appropriately activating the safety device.     

汽车侧面碰撞安全性研究探讨

随着我国汽车碰撞安全性研究的不断发展和国内汽车碰撞试验水平的提高,有关汽车侧面碰撞安全性的法规也开始准备颁布实施。本文主要论述我国开展汽车侧面碰撞研究的重要性,并进行FMVSS214和ECER95侧面碰撞法规的对比分析,介绍FMVSS214和ECER95法规中移动壁变形壁障的几何尺寸及其力学性能要求。最后概述抗侧面碰撞的车身结构设计与改进方法。     

基于车辆动态控制的防侧翻方法分析研究

本文基于49CFR Part 575法规对车辆防侧翻评价指标进行初步探索,并利用CarSim软件建立具有高质心特性的SUV车辆模型,对车身、制动系统、转向系统、轮胎及悬架等子模块进行了定义,完成非线性动力学模型的建立,结合汽车动态控制系统,建立车辆防侧翻控制策略,同时,利用CarSim与Matlab/Simulink进行联合仿真,模拟SUV在极限工况Fishhook环境下的工作情况,验证防侧翻的作用效果,结果表明:防侧翻策略有效的减小了侧向加速度,使得车辆的抗侧翻能力有所增强,汽车的安全性与稳定性得到了有效的保证,为实车试验提供科学依据。