Title: The design and type approval of coach structures for roll-over using the CRASH-D program

Authors: J.C. Brown

Addresses: Cranfield Impact Centre, Cranfield Institute of Technology, UK

Abstract: The CRASH-D program has been accepted as a method of type approval by calculation for the roll-over requirements of ECE Regulation 66. The Regulation specifies the amount of strain energy a coach should be capable of absorbing without intruding into a standard |passenger survival space|. Data on local plastic hinge characteristics are supplied to CRASH-D and the program then calculates: the collapse mechanism of the structure and hence its mode of collapse; the collapse strength and force-displacement characteristics during collapse; the energy absorbed by the structure and hence its mode of collapse; the collapse strength and force-displacement characteristics during collapse; the energy absorbed by the structure at any point during collapse. The results show whether the structure has prevented intrusion into the |survival space|. Examples are given of CRASH-D analyses on a coach bay structure and on various structural joints and sections. The program has been validated against full-size physical roll-over tests.

Keywords: bus design; coaches; collapse mechanisms; crashworthiness testing; CRASH-D program; ECE Regulation 66; passenger survival space; vehicle rollover; vehicle safety; vehicle design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1990.061580

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1990 Vol.11 No.4/5, pp.361 - 373

Published online: 26 May 2014 *

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