Computational Simulation of a Pickup Truck Rollover Test: Impact Energy Analysis

One of the most common events of injuries and deaths in mining activities is the vehicle rollover, for example, the rollover of pickup trucks used to carry freight and workers through this environment or out of it. One way to prevent these fatalities is the use of rollover protective structures (ROPS) which are safety devices fitted internal or externally to vehicles in order to provide protection to driver and passengers during an accidental rollover. The design of these devices is quite complex since it must be carried out analytical and numerical analyses and finally experimental tests. This latest is destructive and expensive since it is necessary a specific apparatus mounted in a large test field. The most widely used test for rollover in the automotive industry is the FMVSS-208 (U.S. Government) or SAE J2114-2011. In order to save time and reduce cost with prototypes this paper deals with modeling and simulation of a rollover dolly test of a pickup truck model according to the above cited regulation using the nonlinear finite element method (LS-DYNA^® software). The aim is to execute an analysis of the energy involved in the rollover process contemplating both kinetic and impact energy using the virtual model. The outputs of this model: internal (stored) energy due to impact and translational velocity of the CG vehicle were accomplished to provide input information for use in future work in virtual rollover tests with ROPS.