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This paper describes the mechanical design of a Suspension Parameter Identification Device and Evaluation Rig (SPIDER) for wheeled military vehicles. This is a facility used to measure quasi-static suspension and steering system properties as well as tire vertical static stiffness. The machine operates by holding the vehicle body nominally fixed while hydraulic cylinders move an “axle frame” in bounce or roll under each axle being tested. The axle frame holds wheel pads (representing the ground plane) for each wheel. Specific design considerations are presented on the wheel pads and the measurement system used to measure wheel center motion. The constraints on the axle frames are in the form of a simple mechanism that allows roll and bounce motion while constraining all other motions. An overview of the design is presented along with typical results.

The International Harmonization Research Activities Pedestrian Safety Working Group (IHRA PSWG) has proposed design requirements for two head-forms for vehicle hood (bonnet) impact testing. This paper discusses the development of MADYMO models representing the IHRA adult and child head-forms, validation of the models against laboratory drop tests, and assessment of the effect of IHRA geometric and mass constraints on the model response by conducting a parameter sensitivity analysis. The models consist of a multibody rigid sphere covered with a finite element modeled vinyl skin. The most important part in developing the MADYMO head-form models was to experimentally determine the material properties of the energy-absorbing portion of the head-form (vinyl skin) and incorporate these properties into MADYMO using a suitable material model. Three material models (linear isotropic, viscoelastic, hyperelastic) were examined.

This paper presents the results of a design space exploration based on the simulations of the MTV (Medium Tactical Vehicle) 5.0 Ton Cargo Truck using MSC-ADAMS (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical System). Design space study is conducted using ADAMS/Car and ADAMS/Insight to consider parametric design changes in suspension and the tires of the cargo truck. The methodology uses an industry acknowledged multibody dynamics simulation software (ADAMS) for the modeling of the cargo truck and a flexible optimization architecture to explore the design space. This research is a part of the work done for the U.S. Army TACOM (Tank Automotive and Armaments Command) at the Center for Automotive Research, The Ohio State University.

Accident reconstructionists use several different approaches to determine vehicle equivalent impact speed from damage due to narrow object impacts. One method that is used relates maximum crush to equivalent impact speed with a bilinear curve. In the past, this model has been applied to several passenger cars with unibody construction. In this paper, the approach is applied to a body-on-frame vehicle. Several vehicle-to-rigid pole impact tests have been conducted on a full-size pickup at different speeds and impact locations: centrally located across the vehicle's front and outside the frame rail. A bilinear model relating vehicle equivalent impact speed to maximum crush is developed for the impact locations. These results are then compared to results obtained from other body-on-frame vehicles as well as unibody vehicles. Other tests such as impacts on the frame rail and barrier impacts are also presented. Limitations to this bilinear approach are discussed.

Computer simulations are popular for modeling vehicle system dynamics. However, further refinement of the vehicle dynamic model is required for extensive use in the automotive industry. In this paper, the model refining procedure is illustrated by developing reliable kinematic models verified with laboratory test results; instrument test data; and a mathematical optimization method. More specifically, simple kinematic models are developed for reduced computation times using ADAMS. They are tuned by the gradient-based optimization technique using the results from a laboratory testing facility, which includes the compliance effect in order to use the kinematic models in dynamic simulations. Also the Magic Formula tire model is developed using the optimization method and tire property data for the STI (Systems Technology, Incorporated) tire model.

The roof structures of light utility vehicles are often comprised of a single composite shell without the usual steel or aluminum frames found on conventional passenger automobiles. This study analyzes the geometry of such structures in relation to their performance during rollover accident and roof intrusion. For a given set of material properties and roof impact velocity, their exists an optimum value of roof stiffness that would minimize the impact energy, manifested in a rollover accident, that would be transmitted to the occupant compartment. This work shows the effects of various geometric parameters on the amount of elastic strain energy that can be absorbed during deformation of the rooftop. The optimum roof geometry was determined to minimize the possibility of, if not the severity of, occupant injury.

Composite material roof structures for multipurpose vehicles are comprised of a composite shell molded without metal frames as in most automobile rooftops. This paper experimentally analyzes the roof structure performance for a static uniformly distributed load over the roof surface and examines the tensile properties, effects of high temperatures and sound absorption characteristics of the random, chopped glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin material. The roof performance includes the load-strain history and the load-deflection behavior of the structure.