EN Technical Manual
EN Technical Manual
EN Technical Manual
Technical Manual
After the work of Dr. W. Gratzer and Dr. H. Burg
Revised by M. Schmidt
Matthias SCHMIDT
ANALYZER PRO
INTRODUCTION
The following handbook is based on the great scientific preparatory work done by
Dr. Werner Gratzer and Dr. Heinz Burg in the field of accident analysis. The summary,
which by no means claims to be complete, is intended to serve as a quick reference
book for the most important formulas.
The manual is made available free of charge to all accident experts. As a token of
your appreciation, I would be delighted to welcome you personally to one of our
seminars.
I wish you exciting work and lots of fun with the manual!
Matthias Schmidt
CONTENT
Introduction ..................................................................................... 1
Kinematics ...................................................................................... 4
Introduction .................................................................................. 4
Basics.......................................................................................... 4
Sizes and units ............................................................................ 4
Uniform movement ....................................................................... 4
Uniformly accelerated movement...................................................... 4
Uniform change of acceleration ........................................................ 5
Distance-time data .......................................................................... 5
Distance-time calculation (Module) ...................................................... 6
Turning-in crash and rear-end collision (Modules) ..................................... 7
Forward calculation ...................................................................... 7
Backward calculation .................................................................... 9
Avoidability consideration .............................................................. 10
Avoidability (Module) ...................................................................... 11
Spatial avoidability ...................................................................... 11
Temporal avoidability ................................................................... 11
Drive off-brake (Module) .................................................................. 12
Pedestrian – Barrier method (Module) ................................................... 14
Kinematics and dynamics of a pedestrian accident ................................ 16
Casting distance of pedestrians ....................................................... 17
Sight obstruction by oncoming traffic (Module) ....................................... 22
Overtaking (Module) ....................................................................... 24
Change of viewing angle (Module) ....................................................... 24
Attention (concentrative - distributive) .............................................. 26
Visual system ............................................................................. 26
Visual information recording ........................................................... 28
Lane change procedure (Module) ........................................................ 33
Casting distance (Module) ................................................................. 35
Kinetics ......................................................................................... 36
Introduction ................................................................................. 36
Basics......................................................................................... 36
Impact hypothesis ....................................................................... 36
The impact coefficient k ............................................................... 37
The friction coefficient µ ............................................................... 39
Collision analysis ........................................................................... 39
Backward analysis ....................................................................... 39
forward analysis ......................................................................... 42
Wall impact ............................................................................... 45
Coasting analysis ........................................................................... 46
Tracking analysis (Coasting analyis backwards) ..................................... 46
Calculation of driving dynamics (Coasting analysis forward) ...................... 50
Calculation of forces between tyres and road surface ............................... 59
Introduction .............................................................................. 59
Metrological recording of tyre properties ............................................ 60
Mathematical replacement models for tyres ........................................ 60
Modelling .................................................................................. 61
Tyre model .................................................................................. 62
Theoretical principles ................................................................... 62
Replication of tyre characteristics .................................................... 63
Approximation in the sliding area ..................................................... 64
Equivalence approach for slip and slip angles ....................................... 65
Wheel load dependence ................................................................ 67
Horizontal dynamic module ............................................................ 69
„IPG-Tire“ Tyre Approximation ........................................................ 73
Further Literature ....................................................................... 77
Dimension Data .......................................................................... 78
Serial collision (Module) ................................................................... 80
Change of vehicle velocity ............................................................. 80
Calculation of passenger acceleration due to collisions ........................... 85
Relationship between EES, permanent deformation and structural stiffness,
calculation of collision duration ....................................................... 90
KINEMATICS
INTRODUCTION
BASICS
UNIFORM MOVEMENT
„Drive with constant velocity“
𝑎 = 0
𝑣 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡. = 𝑣𝐴 = 𝑣𝐸
𝑠 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑡 + 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡.
𝑎 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡.
𝑣 = 𝑎 𝑡 + 𝑣𝐴
𝑠 = ½ 𝑎 𝑡² + 𝑣𝐴 𝑡 + 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡.
UNIFORM CHANGE OF ACCELERATION
"Swelling phase" - This type of movement is characterized by a constant change in
acceleration over time and occurs, for example, when a brake is applied.
𝑎2 − 𝑎1 2
𝑣 = ∫ 𝑎 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑡 + 𝑎1 𝑡 + 𝑣𝐴
2 𝑡𝑆
1 𝑎2 − 𝑎1 3 1
𝑠 = ∫ 𝑣 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑡 + 𝑎1 𝑡 2 + 𝑣𝐴 𝑡 + 𝑠𝐴
6 𝑡𝑆 2
1
𝑣(𝑡𝑆 ) = 𝑣1 = 𝑣𝐴 + (𝑎2 + 𝑎1 ) 𝑡𝑆
2
For the swelling distance, the following results:
1
𝑠(𝑡𝑆 ) = 𝑠𝑆 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑡𝑆 + (𝑎2 + 2 𝑎1 ) 𝑡𝑆2
6
The initial velocity vA is obtained by solving the quadratic equation:
DISTANCE-TIME DATA
Of 5 possible values, 3 must be given. The phases are seamlessly connected to each
other, therefore the initial and final velocity of two successive phases must always
be identical.
Example: Phase 1: Uniformly accelerated movement - Phase 2: Uniform change of
acceleration - Phase 3: Uniform movement.
1
Velocity at end of buildup phase: 𝑣1 = 𝑣𝐴 − 2 𝑎 𝑡𝑆
1 1
Total distance: 𝑠𝑔𝑒𝑠 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑡𝑅 + 𝑣𝐴 𝑡𝑆 − 6 ∗ 𝑎 ∗ 𝑡𝑆2 + 𝑣1 ∗ 𝑡𝐵 − 2 ∗ 𝑎 ∗ 𝑡𝐵 ²
Reaction distance: 𝑠𝑅 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑡𝑅
1
Buildup distance: 𝑠𝑆 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑡𝑆 − 6 𝑎 𝑡𝑆 ²
1 1
Braking distance: 𝑠𝐵 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑡𝐵 − 2 𝑎 𝑡𝑆 𝑡𝐵 − 2 𝑎 𝑡𝐵 ²
2
𝑣12 −𝑣𝐸
Braking time: 𝑡𝐵 = 𝑎
Total time: 𝑡𝑔𝑒𝑠 = 𝑡𝑅 + 𝑡𝑆 + 𝑡𝐵
These modules deal with the situation of a preceding vehicle which is caught by a
descendant. Either the front vehicle accelerates and turns in (turning-in crash) or it
brakes and drives into a column (rear-end collision).
FORWARD CALCULATION
Both initial velocities, final distance and arc correction must be given. Either the
difference in velocity, the initial distance or the reaction time of the rear accident
participant are calculated.
The total time results from the equation: 𝑠𝑔𝑒2 + 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡 = 𝑠𝑔𝑒1 + 𝑠𝑜 − 𝑘𝑜𝑟𝑟
Korr = Distance of the centre of the vehicle of the bender minus difference of the
projections of the positions:
𝑅𝐻 = √(𝑅 + 𝐵)2 + Ü2
The following applies to the collision angle (without upper velocity limit)):
𝑠𝑔𝑒1 1 2
𝛽=𝛼− = 𝛼 − (𝑣𝐴1 𝑡𝑔𝑒 + 2 𝑎1 𝑡𝑔𝑒 )
𝑅𝑀
The resulting equation for tge cannot be solved conclusively if korr is not assumed to
be constant. Therefore, the total time tge is first calculated with ß = 0 and the
resulting value of korr, then a new value of ß and korr is calculated from t ge and with
this value tge is calculated again, so that the correct value is reached iteratively.
tge (total time) and the final velocities are calculated. A possible prematurely
reached speed limit of the front vehicle and the possibility that tge < tR +tS can be
taken into account. In this case, the formulas are modified accordingly.
If the given value of the differential velocity is greater than the maximum value, the
reaction time is calculated which was at least required for the given initial situation
to produce the given differential velocity. The largest possible value of the depth
distance is calculated (at the beginning of the braking phase if the deceleration
values are different, at the end of the braking phase if the deceleration values are
equal).
If the deceleration values are equal, it must be taken into account that if the collision
occurs during the braking phase of the front vehicle, the differential velocity is
independent of the depth distance and depends only on the reaction time.
For a1 + a2 ≠ 0 is valid:
1
𝑣𝐴2 − 2 𝑎2 𝑡𝑆2 − 𝑑𝑢 − 𝑣𝐴1 + 𝑎2 (𝑡𝑅2 + 𝑡𝑆2 )
𝑡𝑔𝑒 =
𝑎1 + 𝑎2
du … Differential velocity
If the requested vehicle comes to a standstill before the collision or reaches the final
speed before the collision, the following applies:
1
𝑣𝐴2 − 2 𝑎2 𝑡𝑆2 − 𝑣𝑜𝑏1 − 𝑑𝑢 + 𝑎2 (𝑡𝑅2 + 𝑡𝑆2 )
𝑡𝑔𝑒 =
𝑎2
1
𝑑𝑢 < 𝑣𝐴2 − 𝑎 𝑡 + 𝑣𝐴1 − 𝑎1 𝑡𝑠2
2 2 𝑠2
If the differential speed is too high, the reaction time can be calculated.:
1
𝑑𝑢 − 𝑣𝐴2 + 2 𝑎2 𝑡𝑆2 + 𝑣𝐴1 − 𝑎1 𝑡𝑠1
𝑡𝑅 =
𝑎1
The final speed of vehicle 2 is calculated from the final speed of vehicle 1 and the
differential velocity. This allows the braking time of vehicle 2 to be calculated and
the total time to be calculated.
BACKWARD CALCULATION
The path of vehicle 1 must be given. The following values can be calculated:
1. the initial speed, if the reaction time of the rear vehicle and the differential
velocity are given at the time of collision.
2. the reaction time, if the initial speed of the rear vehicle and the differential
velocity are given.
3. the differential velocity, if the initial speed of the rear vehicle and the
reaction time are given.
4. the reaction time and brake deceleration.
𝑣𝐸 −𝑣𝐴
And further: 𝑡𝑔𝑒 = + 𝑡𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡
𝑎1
tkonst is the time with which the vehicle continues to travel after the speed limit – if
existent - has been reached, vE is then equal to the speed limit vgr.
2
(𝑣𝑔𝑟 − 𝑣𝐴2 )
𝑡𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡 = 𝑡𝑔𝑒 −
2 𝑎1
𝑣𝐴 = 𝑣12 + 𝑎2 𝑡𝑆2
AVOIDABILITY CONSIDERATION
The different possibilities to avoid collisions are calculated. The avoidability
consideration can be done with or without safety distance at the end (if the reaction
time is given).
The collision is avoided if the final velocities are equal in due time. This can be
achieved by:
Or
This is again done by iterative adaptation to the new arc correction that occurs
during the avoidability calculation.
AVOIDABILITY (MODULE)
SPATIAL AVOIDABILITY
The opposing vehicle (2) must cover the missing braking distance. The collision-free
end point is shifted by this value.
2
𝑣𝐾2
Missing braking distance: 𝑠𝑓𝑒ℎ𝑙 =
2 𝑎2
2
(𝑎1 𝑡𝑆1 )2
𝑣𝐴1 + 𝑎1 (2 𝑡𝑅1 + 𝑡𝑆1 )𝑣𝐴1 − − 2 𝑎1 (𝑠𝑔𝑒 − 𝑠𝑓𝑒ℎ𝑙 ) = 0
12
Avoiding deceleration:
2
𝑎12 𝑡𝑆1 2
+ (2 (𝑠𝑔𝑒 − 𝑠𝑓𝑒ℎ𝑙 ) − 𝑣𝐴1 (2 𝑡𝑅1 + 𝑡𝑆1 )) 𝑎1 − 𝑣𝐴1 =0
12
Avoiding reaction point: 𝑠𝑔𝑒 => 𝑠𝑔𝑒 + 𝑠𝑓𝑒ℎ𝑙
TEMPORAL AVOIDABILITY
The clearance time of the opposing vehicle (2) must be available for this purpose.
Avoiding deceleration:
𝑣𝐴1 𝑡𝑔𝑒 − 𝑠𝑔𝑒
𝑎1 = 6 2
𝑡𝑠1 + 3 𝑡𝐵1 (𝑡𝑠1 + 𝑡𝐵1 )
For the time t, until the maximum speed is reached, the following applies:
𝑡𝑆2 𝑡𝑆 2
+ 2 𝑎2 𝑣𝐴 (𝑡𝑈 + 𝑡𝑆 ) − 𝑎22 + (𝑣𝐴 − 𝑎2 ) − 𝑣𝐸2 − 2 𝑎2 𝑠𝑔𝑒 = 0
3 2
Maximum speed reached: 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑣𝐴 + 𝑎1 𝑡
𝑣1 −𝑣𝐸
Braking time: 𝑡𝐵 = 𝑎2
𝑣𝐴 𝑣𝐴 2 𝑠𝐴𝑅
𝑡𝐴𝑅 √
= − + ( ) + 2
𝑎1 𝑎1 𝑎1
2
𝑡𝐴𝑅
𝑠𝐴𝑅 = 𝑣𝐴 𝑡𝐴𝑅 + 𝑎1
2
For the velocity at the reaction time, the following applies:
𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑣𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑡 + 𝑎1 𝑡𝑅
𝑎1 𝑡𝑅2
𝑠𝑅 = 𝑣𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑡 𝑡𝑅 +
2
Using the general formulas follows:
𝑠𝑔𝑒 = 𝑠𝐴𝑅 + 𝑠𝑅 + 𝑠𝑆 + 𝑠𝑅
𝑡𝑔𝑒 = 𝑡𝐴𝑅 + 𝑡𝑅 + 𝑡𝑆 + 𝑡𝐵
Accidents involving pedestrians can be divided into several groups on the basis of the
different types of contact between pedestrian and motor vehicle. The three main
groups are: hitting at the front, running over and brushing laterally. These groups,
determined by the contact geometry, can be further subdivided by geometric and
kinematic quantities.
The pedestrian is located with his whole body in front of and within the outline of
the vehicle. The pedestrian's body is accelerated to the speed of the vehicle.
The pedestrian disengages from the vehicle and, after a flight phase, hits the road,
where he comes to rest after a certain phase of slipping or rolling. The pedestrian's
end position is in front of the vehicle's end position. Very good test results are
available for this case and therefore precise statements can be made about the
collision speed and the collision point.
In contrast to a full frontal collision, the pedestrian is not completely within the
outline of the vehicle at the moment of impact. This impact geometry does not
necessarily cause the pedestrian to slide to the side of the vehicle. The partial frontal
collision is divided into two categories, one going in and one going out, depending
on the walking direction of the pedestrian.
The pedestrian only comes into contact with the edge areas of the vehicle front.
Most often only with the leg with which he has just taken a step. After the primary
contact, the pedestrian turns around his longitudinal axis. The energy transferred
during the impact is almost completely converted into rotational energy of the
pedestrian, who then glides along the side of the vehicle. This results in damages at
the side of the vehicle and further injuries to the pedestrian..
The procedure is similar to that of a pedestrian walking in. The pedestrian only comes
into contact with the edges of the vehicle front. Most often only with the leg with
which the pedestrian is about to take the next step. After the primary contact, the
pedestrian turns around his longitudinal axis. The energy transferred during the
impact is also almost completely converted into rotational energy. Since the
pedestrian moves away from the vehicle, there is no contact with the side of the
vehicle.
3. Lateral brush:
One speaks of lateral stripes if the pedestrian only comes into contact with the side
of the vehicle. If it is a pedestrian going in, he or she hits the vehicle side, is thrown
away from the vehicle and comes to lie behind the line of the front side of the
vehicle.
If the pedestrian moves parallel to the vehicle, an atypical lateral stripe can form,
in which the pedestrian is touched by parts protruding from the side of the vehicle.
The pedestrian is then immediately thrown back by these parts and leaves no further
traces on the vehicle.
4. Running over:
When driving over a vehicle, at least one wheel drives over the pedestrian's body.
Without prior contact between the pedestrian and the vehicle driving over him, we
speak of a simple crossing, i.e. the pedestrian has been hit by another vehicle and
thrown onto the road or has already been lying on the road for other reasons.
If the pedestrian is caught by a vehicle and driven over by it, this is a complicated
crossing. This case is very rare. Mainly for box-shaped vehicles with low deceleration.
The contact phase is initiated by the primary impact and ended by the detachment
of the pedestrian from the vehicle. The energy transferred to the pedestrian during
the primary impact is now dissipated during the secondary impact, during the slip
phase and, if necessary, during the tertiary impact.
In these wedge-shaped vehicles, the primary impact is usually caused by the bumper,
which hits the pedestrian below the centre of gravity and triggers rotation towards
the vehicle. In addition, the pedestrian moves away from the vehicle and impacts at
different distances from the front of the vehicle, depending on the length of the
bonnet and the collision speed. At low speeds, the angular momentum is cancelled
during head and fuselage impact.
At collision speeds above about 30 km/h, the angular momentum can become so
great that the head and fuselage impact is not sufficient to compensate for the
angular momentum. The pedestrian's centre of gravity is raised, which in extreme
cases can even lead to a throw over the vehicle.
Type B:
In contrast to type A, such high angular momentum is not achieved here because the
pedestrian is not hit so far below the centre of gravity. Only at higher speeds can
the pedestrian's head reach the windscreen.
Type C:
The pedestrian is gripped in full length. The main kick-off point is near the centre of
gravity. Therefore there is almost no rotation or elevation.
Type D:
The raised position of the bumper in contrast to type C leads to a rotation away from
the vehicle. The danger of overrunning is particularly high here, as the negative
angular momentum results in very small casting distances. The pedestrian is thrown
onto the ground directly in front of the vehicle.
Lateral casting distance: distance between the pedestrian's hip impulse point on the
vehicle in collision position and the body's end position in the direction of the
vehicle's lateral axis.
Slipping distance: distance between the first point of contact of the pedestrian with
the road after separation from the vehicle and the final position of the body in the
direction of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
Transverse slipping distance: distance between the first point of contact of the
pedestrian with the road after separation from the vehicle and the final position of
the body in the direction of the transverse axis of the vehicle.
𝑣𝑘2
𝑠 = 0,0178 𝑎 𝑣𝑘 + 0,0271
𝑎
If one resolves the equation after the collision velocity vk, then the result is:
The formulas are only applicable if the following conditions are met:
The pedestrian must be hit entirely. The kick-off takes place at the front.
Impact by car or van.
Deceleration > 4.5 m/s² continuously up to the end position and starting at
the latest immediately after the start of the impact.
End position of the pedestrian in front of the vehicle front.
For very small children there are shorter throwing distances..
THE SETTLEMENT
From the settlement of the pedestrian, approximate statements can be made about
the collision speed. The settlement is defined as the length between the roadway
and the head impact point along the vehicle surface.
𝐿𝐾 = 0,7 𝐻𝐹𝑔 + 𝑐 𝑣𝑘
Kühnel gives c with about 1 cm/km/h, however measured at older vehicles with
steep front. The flatter the bonnet, the larger c can be assumed.
The upper green vehicle represents the visible oncoming traffic and the blue lower
vehicle the accident participants. The red dots mark the pedestrian in different
positions. The top one shows the pedestrian in the position at the time of entering
the road, the bottom one the pedestrian in the position at the time of collision.
The figure shows the positions of the vehicles at the time of the first view of the
pedestrian who is in the middle position at this time.
Based on the intercept theorems, the following relationship between the distances
is formed:
𝐴𝐵 𝐵𝐷
=
𝐴𝐶 𝐶𝐸
The following applies to the AC line: 𝐴𝐶 = (𝑠2 − 𝑠1 ) sin(𝛼) − 𝑑
𝑠1 = 𝑣𝐹 𝑡
BD is derived from the speed and, where appropriate, from the acceleration and
speed limit of oncoming traffic and t minus the distance rear - crossing position of
the pedestrian.
CE results from collision velocity, initial velocity and acceleration as well as from
the total time minus t. The distance of the front from the seating position and s2
cos() is considered as well.
Depending on the situation, an equation of 2nd or 3rd degree in t results, which can
be solved. It is then checked whether the speed limit of oncoming traffic has already
been reached at the time of t, or whether the pedestrian has already reached the
position where his speed is different. If necessary, the calculation is carried out again
using the corrected formulas.
The reaction time taken up by the driver involved in the accident is the total time
less braking time, buildup time and t.
If the collision velocity or the initial velocity is to be calculated from the permissible
reaction time, a closed solution is not possible, therefore an iterative method is
used. The same formulas are used and the required quantity is changed until the
calculated reaction time corresponds to the permissible time.
OVERTAKING (MODULE)
The basic formula is simply the equation between the distances of the vehicle being
overhauled and the vehicle being overhauled.
The input possibility to consider a velocity limit and a final velocity for each vehicle
or not, results in a total of 16 different possibilities with correspondingly many
formulas.
Explanation of terms:
Attention
concentrative distributive
Recognizability Details of a few objects Rough overview of many
objects
Orientation Performance Limited Good
Information Scope Small Large
Information Accuracy Large Small
From the appearance of the stimulus in the peripheral visual area to recognition
(reaction request), 0.4 to 0.7 s elapse.
VISUAL SYSTEM
Accommodation time:
The accommodation time depends on the age and the size of the accommodation
jump.
Example: From remote setting up to 50 cm, the accommodation jump lasts approx.
0.5 s for a 28-year-old and approx. 0.75 s for a 40-year-old.
Two different types of sensory cells are distributed on the retina: Cones for color
vision and rods for light-dark vision.
The cones are located in a narrow area around the central fovea. Towards the
periphery the cone density decreases strongly. The distribution is colour-related.
In the area of the fovea the density of the rods is 0, towards the periphery it first
increases strongly up to approx. 20° and then decreases again by half.
Visual field:
The visual field in binocular vision under optimal conditions extends vertically to a
maximum of 130° (60° upwards and 70° downwards) and horizontally to about 180°.
The resolution is very limited in the peripheral visual field and therefore also the
perception of stationary objects away from the line of sight. On the other hand, the
perception of movement in the periphery is good.
The average visual acuity of the normal-sighted population is 1, which means that
one angular minute can still be resolved. An object with a diameter of almost 3 m
can still be seen at a distance of 100 m in the area of the fovea under good visual
conditions.
Dynamic visual acuity is the ability to recognize details in moving objects. Dynamic
visual acuity is greater than static visual acuity when an object moves slowly across
the line of sight and less when the object moves quickly.
Depth perception:
Depth perception and thus distance estimation is influenced by many factors. For
example, clear vision provides shorter distances and blurred vision (dust, fog) greater
distances. For example, the feeling is created that the mountains are close when
there is a foehn - i.e. clear vision.
The perception of the movement of an object can be achieved simply by fixing the
object in place, i.e. by constantly imaging the object in the retina in the fovea, and
thus requiring movement of the eyes or head or accommodation. While the fixed
object is always displayed at the same position, the image of the environment shifts.
If, on the other hand, the object is not fixed, the image is taken in the peripheral
area of the retina. If the object now moves, the pixel moves over the retina, while
the image of the environment remains the same.
When a vehicle moves along its route, direct visual contact occurs at a certain point,
i.e. at this point (visibility point) the visual beam passes the obstacle concealing the
view.
After further approximation and comparison with memory contents, the object is
recognized in its meaning (recognition point). Depending on whether the object is
important for further driving behaviour, the driver will initiate an action.
In the eye of a resting observer, the environment forms a constant image on the
retina. If the observer moves forward, the image in the eye changes. The fixed object
point is still imaged in the fovea and does not change its position. The larger the
angle to another point, the smaller the distance and the greater the own speed, the
faster the image point travels over the retina. This results in a kind of flow pattern
of points that move from the fovea to the outside, the faster the further outside
they already are.
Since many parameters influence at the same time, a clear interpretation of the flow
pattern and assignment to a certain velocity is not possible, whereby the estimation
of the own velocity is only possible inaccurately.
The estimation of one's own speed is also influenced or coined by other sensory
perceptions (auditory and mechanosomatic). For example, in a quiet and calmly
gliding vehicle, one's own driving speed tends to be underestimated. Not to be
underestimated is also the habituation effect.
The required minimum angular velocity depends on contrast, luminance, object size,
reference point, direction of movement and observation time.
𝑑𝛼 4 𝐵 (𝑎 𝑡 + 𝑣)
𝜔= =
𝑑𝑡 (𝑡 (𝑎 𝑡 + 2 𝑣) − 2 𝐷)2 + 𝐵 2
Investigations with test persons have provided the following limit values for
conspicuous angular velocities under laboratory conditions:
The figure shows the determined values depending on the different brake
acceleration values:
It can be seen very clearly that the velocity level had no influence on the reaction
and that only the angle change as a function of the braking acceleration was
relevant. It is also noticeable that the angular velocity is indirectly proportional to
the distance between the vehicles: double the distance requires only about half the
angular velocity.
The investigation of crossing obstacles in the inner field of vision is made more
difficult by the fact that different effects overlap here, so that it cannot be said
whether and to what extent the change in viewing angle was the attention-grabbing
moment.
Assuming the situation of an intersection with stop lines, the question arises as to
when an approaching road user can notice that another road user is entering the
intersection from a standing position. The points on the retina form a flow pattern.
If an object unexpectedly starts to move, this represents an abnormality in the flow
pattern, which can lead to a reaction request. If one takes into account the aspect
that points further out in the field of vision move outwards more quickly, a right-
angled approach of the obstacles results in three parameters that are decisive for
such a situation:
The speed of approach - the faster the observer approaches, the faster the
flow pattern flows outwards.
The angle of observation - the further outside the corresponding point is, the
faster it already flows outwards.
The acceleration of the obstacle - this is relevant for the conspicuousness of
the anomaly.
The change in viewing angle in the inner area becomes particularly relevant if the
view of a potential obstacle is obscured by an unfortunate relationship of spatial
conditions (e.g. A-pillar).
|𝑣
⃗⃗⃗⃗𝐻 | = |𝑣
⃗⃗⃗⃗𝐹 | sin 𝛽 csc(𝛼 + 𝛽)
It can be seen from the figures that a greater distance to the observed object
requires a lower angular velocity to complete an approximation process. to
recognize. This corresponds to intuition, since small angular velocities of distant
objects produce a relatively much larger image on the retina than near objects that
appear large from the outset. The "relative size" of the observed object thus changes
faster with distant objects than with near objects.
Variable observation angle:
Due to the practicability of the application, the angular change that occurs when
the obstacle deviates at a certain velocity from the velocity at which the
observation angle β is constant was investigated.
In the experiments, different combinations of approach angle α and observation
angle β were investigated, with the collision partners driving at different
velocities, deviating from the constant observation angle.
The lane change procedure (e.g. to the left) consists of 4 sections. First, the vehicle
is steered to the left, then the steering angle is increased from 0 (straight ahead
travel) to a certain maximum value (first section) and then steered back again to 0
(second section). At this moment, the vehicle again reaches straight-ahead travel,
at the same time the maximum yaw angle is reached. Afterwards, the vehicle is
guided analogously to the right and then back again.
The curve traversed is characterized by the fact that its radius of curvature, which
corresponds to the current radius of the curve, decreases from infinity to a minimum
value and then becomes infinitely large again. In the right-hand drive phase, the
same process takes place once again.
With a sinusoidal curve, the radius of curvature is, exactly as desired, at the
beginning in the middle and at the end infinitely large (steering angle is zero) and
reaches after approximately one quarter and three quarters of the path in each case
the smallest radius. The maximum lateral acceleration is obtained approximately at
one of these two points, namely at the point where the velocity is greater.
𝑥 1 2𝜋𝑥
𝑦 = 𝑆𝑣 sin ( )
𝐿2𝜋 𝐿
y Momentary offset
x Path along the straight road, x goes from 0 to L
Sv Side offset (width for evasion)
l Alternative route (actually the space required in the longitudinal
direction of the road)
For the calculation of the smallest radius of curvature, the oblique sine line is rotated
in the x-axis:
𝑆𝑣 2𝜋𝑥
𝑦= √𝑆𝑣2 + 𝐿2 sin ( )
2𝜋𝐿 √𝑆𝑉2 + 𝐿2
2𝜋𝑥 𝜋 2𝜋𝑥 3𝜋
= 𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑟 =
𝐿 2 𝐿 2
Also if:
𝐿 3𝐿
𝑥= 𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑥 =
4 4
The smallest radius of curvature is calculated as follows:
𝐿 √𝑆𝑉2 + 𝐿²
𝑅=
2 𝜋 𝑆𝑉
The lateral or normal acceleration depends on the velocity and the curve radius:
𝑣2
𝑎𝑞 =
𝑅
From the last two equations, L can be calculated as a function of velocity v and
lateral acceleration. This means that the maximum lateral acceleration that is
reached at the point with the smallest curve radius must be entered. If the lane
change process is accelerated, then L must be calculated iteratively. The distance
of the vehicle centre point is calculated by numerical integration of the sinusoidal
curve.
CASTING DISTANCE (MODULE)
The gravity of the earth acts on a dropped body in a vertical direction and the friction
against the current flight direction.
𝑅 = 0,5 𝑐𝑤 𝐴𝑞 𝜌 𝑣 2
𝑅𝑥
−
𝑎=( 𝑚 )
𝑅𝑦
− −𝑔
𝑚
𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎 𝑡
𝑟 = 𝑟0 + 𝑣 𝑑𝑡
INTRODUCTION
BASICS
IMPACT HYPOTHESIS
An impact is by definition an exchange of forces between two bodies. In a
macroscopic view, such as a car accident, it is assumed that the distances taken by
the bodies during the impact time can be neglected. Instead, a single impact point
is assumed to be representative. Furthermore, all individual forces occurring in an
impact are combined to form a total resulting force.
At the collision point, the movement of two rigid bodies results in forces which point
in opposite directions with the same magnitude.
In reality one works with deformable bodies, which is why the impact hypothesis is
only approximate. For example, the permanent deformation of a vehicle after a
collision must be taken into account.
In this case, the resulting forces are in the same plane as the velocity vectors, so
rotation does not occur. The impact is divided into 2 sections:
1. At the point of contact, opposite, equally large impact forces occur (F 1, F2).
The impacting body 1 is decelerated, the impacted body 2 is accelerated, both
bodies are deformed. At the end of the first section the bodies have reached
their maximum deformation, the speeds are the same.
2. The deformations decrease depending on their material properties. Body 2 is
further accelerated, body 1 is further decelerated - until the bodies separate.
...the completely plastic impact, in which the two balls do not deform back, remain
together and move at a common speed.
...the completely elastic impact, in which a complete traceability takes place, ball
1 stands after the impact and ball 2 has taken over the entire impulse.
The description of the elasticity of an impact is given by the k-factor:
Or in words: The impact coefficient is the velocity difference after the impact
divided by the velocity difference before the impact..
A special case is the sliding collision, where v1‘ > v2‘ is possible and the k-factor can
become negative.
In reality, it is not 2 centres of mass that collide, but e.g. 2 parts of a vehicle chassis.
The impact coefficient k must then of course be determined from the velocities of
the points of contact. Only the velocity components in the direction of the contact
normal are of interest here (vBn and vBn‘).
Normal component of the contact point Normal component of the contact point
velocity before the impact velocity after the impact
The size of the friction coefficient is influenced by the surface quality of the contact
zone and the type of impact.
COLLISION ANALYSIS
BACKWARD ANALYSIS
Momentum-backwards analysis:
From the conditions after the collision (translational and rotational movements of
the vehicles) the conditions before the collision are concluded. The principle of
linear momentum and the principle of angular momentum are used for the
calculation. The coasting impulses are known by amount and direction (from
tracking) as well as the direction of the run-in impulses.
The solution to the principle of linear momentum results from the fact that the shock
drive vector must be the same size for both vehicles and act in the opposite
direction. Then it is checked whether the principle of angular momentum is fulfilled
by the shock drive calculated from the principle of linear momentum. The position
of the touch tangent or the impact coefficient need not necessarily be considered in
this procedure.
EES-backwards analysis:
In the case of oncoming traffic collisions or rear-end collisions, the application of the
drive-balance method, i.e. the sole application of the principles of linear
momentum, is problematic, since small angular changes in the momentum vectors
produce large changes in the magnitudes of these vectors.
In order to overcome this problem, the EES procedure was developed. In addition to
the principles of linear and angular momentum, the law of conservation of energy is
also taken into account. The difference between the energy of the system before
the collision and the energy of the system after the collision corresponds
approximately to the deformation work that becomes visible when the vehicles are
damaged. This deformation work can be calculated by suitable methods. This way a
further equation of determination is obtained, which replaces the direction of the
input momentum. This facilitates the calculation of such accident types, in particular
accidents with slipping. The position of the contact tangent or the impact coefficient
are not necessarily important for the EES method as well.
The influencing variables in the backward analysis are summarized and discussed in
the following table. The term "momentum backward" means that the solution is
found primarily by applying the principle of linear momentum. EES backward" means
that the direction of an input pulse is replaced by the law of conservation of energy
equation. In the table, an "E" means that this is an input value. The values without
"E" are calculated. Values that are marked with "SV" are obtained from tracking
analysis.
Momentum EES
backwards backwards
Vehicle 1
Direction momentum after collision SV SV
Amount momentum after collision SV SV
Direction momentum before collision E
Amount momentum before collision
Angular momentum after collision SV SV
Angular momentum before collision E E
EES value E*
Vehicle 2
Direction momentum after collision SV SV
Amount momentum after collision SV SV
Direction momentum before collision E E
Amount momentum before collision
Angular momentum after collision SV SV**
Angular momentum before collision E E
EES value E*
In the column "EES backwards" you can alternatively enter the direction of the
momentum for vehicle 1 and leave the direction of the momentum for vehicle 2
blank.
The information about the contact point velocities and the friction value in the
contact zone are not required as input variables, but they can be calculated if the
orientation of the contact tangent and normal is defined and serve as control
parameters.
This happens when the calculation provides a impact drive that is too strongly
twisted in relation to the normal direction. The consequence of this is that the
friction in the contact zone becomes greater than is necessary for an adhesive
impact. Therefore, the friction would have an accelerating effect.
The differential velocity of the points of contact after the impact should be roughly
2 - 7 km/h. Sometimes, however, the calculation result can be significantly higher.
The same applies to the k-factor, which is proportional to DvBn'.
If these problems occur, the input parameters must be corrected. The correction can
only be made indirectly either by shifting the contact point, twisting the tangent, or
changing the coasting data (in the tracking analysis). In most cases it will be
necessary to change the course angle. This can often be changed by correcting the
second position after the collision position.
FORWARD ANALYSIS
With the forward calculation, less is known about the collision sequence with this
approach than with the backward analysis. First of all, there is nothing that can be
regarded as certain. Only it is assumed that two vehicles drove in given directions at
given speeds. One wants to calculate from this which conditions existed after the
collision.
So only amounts and directions of momentums before collision are assumed. Nothing
is known about momentums after collision. Also the collision location related to the
roadway does not necessarily have to be known. By varying different input
parameters, the collision speed and other parameters are determined using the "trial
and error" principle.
Assumptions must therefore be made about the conditions in the contact zone, i.e.
assumptions about the components of the contact point velocities after the collision.
For this purpose, the orientation of contact tangent and normal must be determined.
The difference of the components of the contact point velocities in normal direction
must be determined via the impact coefficient or directly as input. The coefficient
of friction in the contact zone determines the degree of slip. The collision without
slipping can be regarded as a special case and the impact with hooking at the contact
points can be regarded as a special case of it again.
The input values for the forward calculation differ from the backward calculation as
shown in the following table. It should be noted that the orientation of the touch
tangent and normal can have a very large influence on the result, which is why
extreme care should be taken when determining them. The difference of the
components of the contact point velocities in normal direction is determined by the
impact coefficient, result is a difference in km/h, which is on average about 5 km/h.
The difference between the components of the contact point velocities in the
tangent direction depends on how large the coefficient of friction is applied in the
contact zone, whether this coefficient of friction is used at all and whether there is
an impact with or without slippage. In the case of an impact without slippage, the
components have the same length in the tangent direction (static friction exists); in
the case of an impact with slippage, they may differ considerably from one another
(sliding friction exists).
The two available methods work in principle according to the same formulas and
differ only in the interpretation of the input of the friction coefficient:
Momentum forward (friction value as limit): The friction coefficient entered is a limit
value which has the maximum friction forces occurring in the contact zone. If the
friction cone specified by the friction coefficient is not left, there is an adhesive
impact and the components of the contact point velocities parallel to the tangent
are the same. If there is an adhesive impact, the coefficient of friction occurring
during the collision is smaller than the input (maximum equal).
Momentum forward (R fixed): With this method, the impact is calculated exactly
with the specified coefficient of friction.
The size of the coefficient of friction is checked next. The friction force acts in the
opposite direction to the relative movement of the contact surfaces. This means that
the force must be opposite to the faster parallel component of the contact point
velocities. If the coefficient of friction is increased, the difference between the
parallel components is reduced. If the coefficient of friction is set above the value
required for an adhesive impact, the previously slower vehicle would become faster
and the friction force would act in the direction of the now faster component, which
is of course physically wrong. If this occurs, the error message "Coefficient of friction
too high" is displayed.
Momentum Momentum
backwards forwards
Vehicle 1
Direction momentum after collision SV
Amount momentum after collision SV
Direction momentum before collision E E
Amount momentum before collision E
Angular momentum after collision SV
Angular momentum before collision E E
EES value
Vehicle 2
Direction momentum after collision SV
Amount momentum after collision SV
Direction momentum before collision E E
Amount momentum before collision E
Angular momentum after collision SV
Angular momentum before collision E E
EES value
In addition, a check is carried out to determine whether the vehicles would continue
to penetrate each other after the collision. If the vector of the contact point velocity
of vehicle 1 shows between that of vehicle 2 and its centre of gravity or vice versa,
the warning is given that the input is to be checked.
Manual input will be used in cases where there is a slight slippage. It should be noted
that sliding is always associated with friction; the greater the relative movement,
the greater the friction to be expected up to a certain limit.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR FORWARD ANALYSIS
If a collision analysis in forward calculation is to be performed, the user must
consider, on the basis of the available clues, how the collision probably occurred and
what type of collision it was. The general procedure is clearly different from
backward calculation and requires very good knowledge of collision mechanics on
the part of the user.
At the beginning of the calculations, an initial hypothesis is made about the probable
collision sequence and the data in the following table is used to check whether the
hypothesis was correct. Normally, several changes to the initial hypothesis are
necessary before a correctly descriptive result can be obtained for the current case.
WALL IMPACT
Since the "coasting movement of an obstacle" cannot be determined, the backward
analysis is not applicable in the conventional way. However, if the coasting
movement of the impacting vehicle is known, the backward analysis would be
desirable. In the method developed here, the backward analysis was combined with
the forward analysis. From the impacting vehicle the coasting is known, from the
fixed obstacle it is known that the collision speed is 0, i.e. the inlet is known.
The data for the impacting vehicle must be entered in the vehicle data on the left;
the right column is provided for the wall or obstacle.
You must assign a vehicle number to the wall or obstacle and enter a correspondingly
large mass in the vehicle data. In the input mask of the geometrical data you can
select "Obstacle" as vehicle, then predefined data are taken over.
COASTING ANALYSIS
Intermediate positions are defined starting from the end position (0). In the previous
figure, two further positions have been defined from the beginning of tracking
analysis (start of coasting, position 3). The course must be determined between the
points. The accuracy is increased if this is done by a "spline calculation" instead of
seeing. The course angle then results from the direction of the tangent of the spline
at the relevant point.
The side slip angle results from the relation: 𝛽𝑖 = Ψ𝑖 − 𝑣𝑖
The deceleration at the defined positions are calculated. The calculation of the
speed change in the section takes place as a buildup phase, which means that a linear
change of the deceleration is assumed in each interval. The deceleration at the
defined positions is calculated from the side slip angle and the partial braking factor.
This formula is based on a linear relationship between the lateral guiding force and
the circumferential force. The partial braking factor is included in the calculation
here irrespective of the direction. The maximum lateral guiding force is assumed to
be the same as the maximum circumferential force.
This formula can now be modified by assuming a different maximum deceleration for
the longitudinal and transverse directions.
𝑎𝑆𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑎𝑈𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅𝑉
𝑎𝑈𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 9,81 𝜇𝐵
u… longitudinal
s… transverse
If the linear model is used, the partial braking factor occurs as a direction-
independent summand.
Elliptical model:
In order that an acceleration in longitudinal direction can also be taken into account,
this formula must be modified:
In this formula, the partial braking factor is related to the longitudinal direction
(direction of the circumferential force). With small side slip angles and small partial
braking factors, the resulting deceleration tends to be smaller than according to the
standard formula.
Partial braking Phi (°) a (m/s²) elliptical model a (m/s²) linear model
factor
0.1 0 0,8 0,8
1 0 7,8 7,8
0 10 1,2 1,2
0,1 10 1,4 1,9
0,2 10 2,0 2,5
0,3 10 2,6 3,2
0,4 10 3,3 3,9
0,5 10 4,1 4,5
0,6 10 4,8 5,1
0,7 10 5,5 5,8
0,8 10 6,3 6,5
0,9 10 7,1 7,2
1 10 7,8 7,8
0 20 2,4 2,4
0,1 20 2,5 3,0
0,2 20 2,8 3,5
0,3 20 3,3 4,0
0,4 20 3,8 4,6
0,5 20 4,4 5,1
0,6 20 5,0 5,6
0,7 20 5,7 6,2
0,8 20 6,4 6,7
0,9 20 7,1 7,2
1 20 7,8 7,8
0 30 3,5 3,5
0,1 30 3,6 3,9
0,2 30 3,8 4,4
0,3 30 4,1 4,8
0,4 30 4,5 5,2
0,5 30 4,9 5,6
0,6 30 5,4 6,0
0,7 30 5,9 6,4
0,8 30 6,5 6,8
0,9 30 7,1 7,2
1 30 7,7 7,7
0 60 6,1 6,1
0,1 60 6,1 6,2
0,2 60 6,2 6,3
0,3 60 6,2 6,5
0,4 60 6,3 6,6
0,5 60 6,4 6,7
0,6 60 6,6 6,8
0,7 60 6,7 6,9
0,8 60 6,9 7,0
0,9 60 7,1 7,2
1 60 7,3 7,3
0 90 7,1 7,1
0,1 90
0,2 90
0,3 90
0,4 90
0,5 90 7,1 7,1
0,6 90
0,7 90
0,8 90
0,9 90
1 90 7,1 7,1
CALCULATION OF DRIVING DYNAMICS (COASTING ANALYSIS FORWARD)
The complete simulation of a driving process requires a large number of input
parameters. In order to make the process more estimable, parameters with only
minor effects on the motion sequence are more or less extensively neglected. It
depends on these simplifications for which purposes such a model can be used and
for which ones it cannot be used.
In general:
The term skidding is used when a vehicle performs movements that can no longer be
controlled by the driver. Skidding can be caused by driver actions without external
forces or by external forces, for example by collision with another body.
Most often the expert has to examine the skidding coasting after a collision. To a
lesser extent, e.g. in the assessment of single accidents, skidding processes caused
by driver actions are to be assessed.
Drift tracks, from which one can see from the course of the stripes in the tire
tracks whether the driver has additionally steered or braked
Blocking traces of empty tyres or rim flanges, which may be an indication of
technical defects.
Deviation procedures, even partially from the roadway. Differences in
coefficients of friction causing yaw movements due to braking.
Traces of mostly all wheels and a largely straight centre of gravity path
indicate that the wheels of the vehicle were blocked.
A curved course of the centre of gravity path indicates that none or not all
wheels were blocked.
In the case of unblocked wheels, it is important for the correct dimensioning
of the decelerations whether translation and rotation end at the same time or
at different times.
The following pictures show examples from mathematical simulation. They are
intended to show some basic differences and influences.
Simulation A: Skidding coasting with blocked wheels, rotation v = 40 km/h
to left (positive) s = 11,8 m
µ = 0,8
a = 5,22 m/s²
t = 2,14 s
You can see from the graphics that even with blocked wheels a completely straight
line of the centre of gravity is not to be expected with a skidding coasting path.
Circumferential
force course
Lateral force
course
Roll and
pitch angle
If the wheels are not blocked, the movements of the skidding vehicles look different:
Tyre tracks are only fragmentary, the path of the centre of gravity is often clearly
curved (wheels deformed, steering turned), translation and rotation usually do not
end at the same time. The following three simulation calculations show basic facts.
In particular, the very different degradation of translation and rotation must be
taken into account when applying approximation formulas.
In the simulations D to F, the initial speed was 40 km/h, the same as in the previous
simulations. The yaw rate for simulation D was 300 degrees/second.
D In contrast to the
blocked wheels,
there is now a stair-
like reduction in
speed. The rotation
is after 1.8 s or 13.5
m at 0. The average
deceleration is
calculated with 167
degrees/s². At t =
1.8 s the linear
speed is still 15.6
km/h. The
E remaining coasting
distance is 5.5 m,
the corresponding
deceleration is 2.75
m/s². The
deceleration for the
speed reduction
from 40 to 15.6
km/h took place
over 13.5 m and
thus averaged only
1.7 m/s².
F
In simulation E, the
initial yaw rate was
only 200
degrees/sec. The
braking effect on
the rear wheels was
reduced from a
partial braking
factor TB = 0.1 to
0.04.
By chance, translation and rotation now end almost simultaneously. The mean
decelerations are calculated at 3.8 m/s² and 67 degrees/s². The diagrams of the
velocity curve during the skidding process show that neither the linear nor the
rotational velocity reduction are constant. The rotational speed is reduced to less
than half during a distance of almost 4 m, then even an acceleration takes place and
then the decay to 0 takes place within a distance of about 1 m. The yaw deceleration
reaches maximum values of 330 degrees/s². This raises the question at which angle
the largest yaw deceleration occurs and when it is largely constant or even
accelerated. This problem will be discussed later.
In simulation F, the initial yaw rate was further reduced to 100 degrees/second. 3 s
after the start of skidding the steering wheel was turned 90 degrees to the left. On
the corresponding diagram you can see that the rotation is reduced to almost 2 m
distance, the corresponding yaw deceleration has a maximum value of 220
degrees/s² and an average value of 60 degrees/s², related to the total distance
during which the reduction took place. The linear deceleration was 2 m/s² on
average until the complete degradation of the rotation, then about 0.9 m/s² until
standstill.
If you take a closer look at simulation E, where translation and rotation end at about
the same time, you can also make statements about when rotational speed is reduced
and when it is not. For this purpose, the skidding process, the velocity reduction and
the associated decelerations were drawn on a comparable scale. From this and from
further calculations, as well as from the evaluation of measurement records or film
evaluations of accident tests, it can be deduced that the rotation is mainly reduced
at side slip angles between 0 and +/- 30 degrees. The yaw deceleration also depends
on the ratio of translation to rotation.
CALCULATION OF FORCES BETWEEN TYRES AND ROAD SURFACE
INTRODUCTION
In mathematical simulation, the simulation of the effect of the forces in the tyre
contact area is of the greatest importance. The automotive industry is making
enormous efforts to meet the ever-increasing demands on the reliability of its
products. This means that it is necessary to obtain further detailed knowledge about
the safety-relevant components of a vehicle. The vehicle characteristics of the
vehicle are optimally adapted to the driver, the car should always remain easily
controllable and its behaviour predictable in all situations. These requirements can
be summarised under the term "dynamic driving safety". To achieve this goal, driving
stability, steering and braking behaviour must be coordinated. Design measures on
the chassis and on the tyre design are necessary for this purpose.
The tyre plays a decisive role here as the connecting link between the vehicle and
the road. Its behaviour ultimately determines how safely braking and steering forces
can be transmitted.
In order to better control and predict the influence of tyres on vehicle behaviour,
extensive driving behaviour studies and measurements have been carried out over
decades and simulation programs have been developed. An important step in such
investigations is the development of a suitable simulation model for the tyre
properties.
Especially the properties of the tyres are very difficult to describe mathematically.
An important reason is that the friction laws of classical mechanics (Coulomb
friction) cannot be applied to tyres as used in automobiles. Rubber is not a rigid
body, but has viscoelastic properties of high complexity. There is therefore no single
discrete coefficient of traction between the tyre and the road surface. According to
the theory of rubber friction, the frictional force currently transmitted is composed
of the following four components:
The adhesion component of the tyres is of primary importance for the driving
movement of the vehicle. Their maximum occurs at very low sliding velocities. These
are present in the area of drive and brake slip during normal driving. It is important
to note that no force is transmitted without slippage.
The properties of tyres are usually determined on test benches. The transmittable
forces are measured as a function of slip or slip angle. They also have an influence:
Road condition, road state, vehicle and tyre condition and driving condition.
When considering the condition of the road, the materials used in the road surface,
the age of the road surface, the traffic load, the season and the micro- and macro-
roughness should be taken into consideration. The road builders have developed
various measurement methods to monitor road grip and use them to check when road
surfaces need to be replaced.
The road condition describes the concrete type of surface, i.e. dry, wet, snowy, icy
or dirty road.
In terms of vehicle and tyre condition, the design, axle suspension, tyre dimensions,
tread design, tyre inflation pressure and other factors must be taken into account.
This results in the typical characteristic curves as can be seen from the systems.
These characteristic curves must now be available in analytical or numerical form so
that they can be used in simulation programs. There are many different approaches
to the mathematical representation of tyre properties in the technical literature. A
distinction must be made between closed solutions, which can contain numerous
simplifications, and iterative methods, in which measurement data is entered and
intermediate values are determined point by point.
The tyre load capacity is determined by the tyre designation. There you will also find
information about the change in the tyre load capacity depending on the internal
tyre pressure. As an approximation, it can be said that every 0.1 bar change in
pressure results in a change in the tyre load capacity of 100 N.
The profile of the tyre lateral force over the skew is strongly dependent on the tyre
construction, but also on the wheel load, the tyre inner pressure and the camber.
The difficulty lies in the mathematical simulation of this characteristic curve.
MODELLING
Before a model is created, it must be decided which influences and factors are to be
taken into account and which are not expected to have a lasting influence on the
model with regard to the issue at hand. In their simplified form, models of this kind
can help to narrow down problem areas and then concentrate on the relevant
questions.
The tyre properties can be displayed in different ways and also processed in
programs:
Representation by tables
Representation by graphs
Representation by formulas
The first two possibilities are quite difficult to use. The evaluation may require a lot
of effort or may not be accurate, especially with graphs. However, the third
possibility offers the best handling, namely the use of a closed formula.
The best way to avoid these disadvantages is to use a model function tailored to the
problem. Due to its special structure, it should be able to describe the measured
data with great accuracy. In addition, it should have parameters related to the
typical sizes of the measured data.
In order to be able to process the recorded data more easily and to enable a fast and
simple simulation of the measured values on the computer, the tyre model should
be able to describe the following in particular:
The creation of a mathematical tyre model is in any case a very difficult task, which
is why AnalyzerPro uses the "IPG-Tire" model from IPG in Karlsruhe. This company
has an intensive cooperation with the University of Karlsruhe and supplies tyre
models to many research and development departments in the automotive industry
all over the world. The tyre model has been adapted so that only those values are
required as inputs which are either available to the experts or can be easily
estimated. These values are: Load capacity, lateral stiffness and ratio of sliding
friction to static friction. The tyre model IPG-Tire is described in the following in its
complete properties.
TYRE MODEL
THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES
The quality of a tyre model depends decisively on how exactly, with what effort and
in which operating range tyre reactions can be simulated and tyre characteristics
approximated. The approximation of tyre characteristics and the model of the
physical equivalence of slip and slip angle are important theoretical foundations of
IPG-Tire.
In addition to the static tyre reactions, IPG-Tire also determines the horizontal
dynamic behavior. For this purpose, the low-pass character of the tyre is modelled.
REPLICATION OF TYRE CHARACTERISTICS
The tyre model calculates the slip angle, slip and wheel load from the kinematic
condition of the rim and returns the reaction vector associated with this operating
point from lateral force, circumferential force during acceleration or braking and
restoring torque.
Lateral guide force as a function of slip angle, wheel load and optional
additional parameter z,
Circumferential forces as a function of slip, wheel load and z,
Self-aligning torque as a function of slip angle, wheel load and z
A process adapted to the various properties of passenger car and truck tyres in terms
of quality and effort is the use of regionally defined, interlinked splines to
approximate tyre characteristics. Their curvature behaviour corresponds to that of
a bending beam mounted without moments at the ends. This ensures curvature-free
inlet and outlet sections and - in contrast to the representation by a single high-
order polynomial - minimum curvature energy of the approximation curve.
The latter can easily be controlled by the number of functions to be applied so that
finding an optimum for the respective trace is not a problem. In contrast to e.g.
parabolic approaches, the character of the approximation curve is not
predetermined. The only specification made by selecting splines as approximation
curves is the necessary replication of original curves. However, this specification is
not a limitation if the underlying physics of tyre behaviour are known.
𝑦𝑖 = 𝑓(𝑥𝑖 ), 𝑖 = 1 … 𝑚
(𝐴𝑇 𝐴)𝑐 = 𝐴𝑇 𝑦
Is to be determined, for each curve, the solution of a system of equations of the
form is to be determined, where A is a band matrix (Dim n,m with n < m) with the
method and the distribution of the data points in x-dependent content. If n=m, there
is interpolation, i.e. the analytical representation contains all known y(x). If there
is an equidistant distribution for x, A is only dependent on the method, thus
predefined, and an inversion for the purpose of solution according to c can be
analytically predefined.
𝑥𝑖,𝑗 = 1 … 𝑛 < 𝑚
The described operation is performed successively first for x = slip angle, then for x
= wheel load, and finally, as desired, for x=z (see Approximation by fit).
Rslide … Reaction force or reaction moment for large slip values or slip angles
The adaptation of the spline mapping the characteristic curve to the principal curve
is achieved by adding support values.
𝑠 ∗ = √((sin(𝛼)2 + 𝑠 2 (cos(𝛼)2 )
sin(𝛼)
𝜙 = arcsin ( )
𝑠∗
A transformation into a polar coordinate system is performed to reconstruct the real
operating range that lies between the axes to which α = 0 or s = 0 applies. The
renunciation of experimentally determined tyre data in this area makes the model
economical and avoids the overdetermination of model parameters (the axis s = 0 is
determined by pure load maps and by traction ellipses).
The new polar coordinate system is spanned by -s and sin α in the base plane and the
reaction variable R as vertical axis. In the two boundary surfaces (x = 0 and s = 0,
respectively) the circumferential force and the lateral force, respectively, are
mapped as they were originally known by measurement, now already by
approximation. These two characteristic curves are connected by an analytical
approach by means of a three-dimensionally curved surface. This follows certain
physical laws such as continuity, consistency and symmetry.
Friction cake: resulting reaction force R (α, s) for medium wheel load:
Determination of the reaction process for 0 < Φ < π/2:
The real operating point, which is marked by s ≠ 0 and α ≠ 0, now lies in the form of
a reaction force that can be divided into U and S on the intersection curve of an
upright cylinder (radius s*) with this three-dimensional surface.
This allows the reaction force R to be determined at operating point B and broken
down into its components U and S via Φ.
The basically same procedure is used to calculate the self-aligning torques under
mixed load. It is assumed that no self-aligning torques occur with pure slip loading
(α = 0).
The model is still incomplete for circumferential forces, since drive and brake forces
have to be included in the calculation in various ways. A second quadrant is missing,
which enables a variation of s in the range of - 1... + 1 and from Φ in the range 0 ...
π. Any measurements not available for this purpose are automatically determined in
the program by a similarity transformation from the known curves.
However, the dependencies are only known for the wheel loads for which
characteristic curves have been measured and approximated. For the universal
applicability of the tyre model, however, it is necessary to switch from network
planes with constant wheel load to a continuous representation for any wheel loads.
For this purpose, the one-dimensional spline approach used for the representation
of the S(α)-, U(s)- and M(α) characteristic curves (with approximately constant wheel
load in each case) must be extended to a two-dimensional approach for the
representation of the S(α,P)-, U(s,P)- and M(α,P) characteristic maps.
Until now, the coefficient vector c for a certain wheel load P was determined for the
splines of each characteristic curve. The originally measured dependency can also
be represented in the form of its spline coefficients over the slip respectively the
slip angle. The transition to a two-dimensional representation is made by plotting
the coefficients of all splines over the third axis of the coordinate system (wheel
load P). In the direction of P, these coefficients can be interpolated by splines, which
represent the dependence of the coefficients of the one-dimensional splines and thus
of the original curves of any wheel loads.
A section perpendicular to the S(α) plane, which is the lateral boundary of the
friction cake for s=0, illustrates the appearance of individual S(P) curves. The lateral
force values for different wheel loads are read from the diagram at a constant slip
angle and transferred to a lateral force (wheel load) diagram. The desired constant
dependence of the lateral force on the wheel load at constant α is obtained by spline
interpolation between the points.
For wheel loads approaching zero, the curve follows a course that changes to the
(S=0, -P) axis at P=0. This form is forced by the automatic insertion of an artificial,
horizontal (P=O,S=0) characteristic curve into the S(α) diagram.
In the same way, the dependencies circumferential force - slip - wheel load and self-
aligning torque - slip angle - wheel load are also determined. Using the equivalence
approach, the friction cake for any wheel load can then be determined. Thus, the
completely constant mapping of the tyre behavior is realized in all possible real
operating points.
HORIZONTAL DYNAMIC MODULE
The behaviour of a mechanical system can in very few cases be described in good
approximation by algebraic equations. In most cases, differential equations are to
be applied here; the observable states which the system passes through within a
period of time must therefore not be regarded as isolated operating points. They
are dependent on the prehistory and cannot be approximated by stationary measured
maps.
Both the analytical derivation of complicated models and the selective observation
and extrapolation of the results lead here to a relatively simple differential equation,
which already achieves a considerably improved simulation compared to the
stationary calculation.
This is a differential equation of the first order, which contains as free parameter
the unknown lateral guiding force S and its first temporal derivative S. A system
following such an equation is characterized by the term low-pass. The system
behaviour of a low pass corresponds to the frequency response shown below.
𝑆 = 𝑆𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡
The high quality of the replica of the transient structure shows the response to
harmonic wheel load excitation. A harmonic fluctuation of the amplitude of the
static base load is superimposed on a constant wheel load, so that the vertical load
of the tyre varies between 0 and twice the static load. At a constant slip angle, the
lateral force also develops periodically, but strongly distorted. In particular, the
mean value of the lateral guiding force is strongly dependent on the wavelength L of
the wheel load excitation.
The calculation of this effect by IPG-Tire corresponds not only qualitatively but also
quantitatively with corresponding measurements. Such a realistic mapping of the
transient tyre behaviour is achieved by considering different dependencies between
the relaxation length and the load of the tyre. If the wheel load is disappearing, for
example, it must also go towards zero, since otherwise the low-pass filtering would
still deliver lateral forces even without traction, depending on the preceding load.
Lateral force reaction to harmonious wheel load excitation:
This short discussion should essentially convey the following insight: static and
dynamic behaviour can - at least in approximation - be observed and replicated
separately. In the above simple model only the time constant T has to be determined
to simulate the time behaviour, while the stationary behaviour has to be verified by
the usual measurements according to the right side of the equations.
IPG-Tire later automatically takes into account that this fraction is load-dependent,
which means, for example, that with increasing skew angle and the associated
sliding, the Latsch becomes smaller. If the constants mentioned are set to 0, the
model calculates purely statically.
The additional horizontal dynamic approach has resulted in a model whose stationary
behaviour can be optimised and whose time behaviour in the lower load range is
already well approaching the real conditions.
Due to the reduced order of the differential equation, it must be accepted that belt
vibrations cannot be considered - the figure is therefore additionally limited to the
frequency range below 40Hz. On the other hand, the advantageous possibility of
solving the tyre differential equations separately from the differential equation core
of the rest of the vehicle system was created by precisely this reduction, which
benefits the flexible use of the model in the most diverse environments.
1 Tyre width
4 Height-width ratio
5 Tyre design
6 Rim diameter
7 Load Index (LI)
8 Speed symbol (GSY, also called "Speedindex")
Speedindex [km/h]
M 130
N 140
P 150
Q 160
R 170
S 180
T 190
U 200
H 210
V 240
W 270
Y 300
ZR > 240
LOAD-INDEX
The load index indicates how much load the
individual tyre can carry. The axle load of
the front and rear axles is noted in the
vehicle documents. The tyre should have a
higher load capacity than the axle load/2
(since two wheels are fitted per axle).
The load capacity of V, W and Y tyres depends on the maximum vehicle speed, V
tyres up to 210 km/h, W tyres up to 240 km/h and Y tyres up to 270 km/h have the
maximum load capacity assigned to the tyre. At speeds above 210 km/h or 240 km/h
/ 270 km/h, the load capacity of the tyre decreases continuously, which is why
sufficiently dimensioned tyres should always be used.
Especially with these small velocity changes, which are related to the threshold for
cervical spine injuries, it is particularly important to consider the frictional force of
the wheels during the rush hour. Even rough estimates of the forces exerted by
impact and tyre force show that neglect would lead to errors. The equations
therefore used for the principle of linear momentum are as follows:
This force is effective during the compression time tKo and the restitution time tRe.
In general, the times tKo + tRe can be assumed to be the same for both vehicles. Only
if a vehicle comes to a standstill or changes direction before the end of the collision
phase are case distinctions necessary.
Force - distance - deformation characteristics and idealisation assumed here:
𝐹 = 𝑓 𝑠 = −𝑚 𝑎 = − 𝑚 𝑠̈
𝑓
=> 𝑠̈ + 𝑠=0
𝑚
𝑠̈ … 2. derivation of the distance after time
𝜋 𝑓
2 =𝜔= √
𝑇 𝑚
In this model 2 springs encounter each other in an idealized way. The springs
themselves can easily be regarded as massless. They can therefore be regarded as a
single spring. The structural stiffness of this resulting spring is calculated as follows:
𝑓1 𝑓2
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 =
𝑓1 + 𝑓2
This results in the following for ω:
2𝜋 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝜔= = √
𝑇 𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑠
T is the period of a complete vibration, which of course does not take place here.
The duration of the compression phase is ¼ of T. The duration of the restitution
phase can be calculated analogously.
In the impulse equation the four velocities are contained as unknown quantities.
With the law of conservation of energy and the definition of the impact factor two
further equations are available. A velocity must therefore always be known.
1
(𝑚1 𝑣12 + 𝑚2 𝑣22 − (𝑚1 𝑣12̇ + 𝑚2 𝑣22̇ )) = 𝐸𝐷 + 𝐸𝑅𝑒𝑖𝑏
2
The impact factor k is defined as follows:
Δ𝑣̇
𝑘=
Δ𝑣
Since Δ𝑣̇ is constant over a wide range and averages about 5 km/h (spread ± 3 km/h),
this value can be reckoned with well.
The friction work on the wheels depends on whether and to what extent the driver
actuates the brake pedal during the collision. The following applies for the
calculation:
1 2
1 2
𝑠𝐾 = 𝑣 𝑡𝐾𝑜 + (𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 2 𝑎) 𝑡𝐾𝑜 + 𝑣̇ 𝑡𝑅𝑒 + (2 𝑎̇ − 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥 ) 𝑡𝑅𝑒
6 6
Acceleration-time diagram:
a
amax
a'
Ko Re
Pre Crash Crash Post Crash t
The equations are now inserted into the equation of the law of conservation of
energy, resulting in a determination equation for Δv:
1 𝐶32 − 𝐶42
Δ𝑣 = 𝐶1 + √𝐶12 + Δ𝑣 2̇ + 2 Δ𝑣̇ (𝑎1 𝑡𝑅𝑒1 − 𝑎2 𝑡𝑅𝑒2 ) + 𝐶 +
𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑠 2 𝑚1 𝑚2
With:
𝐶1 = 𝑎2 𝑡𝐾𝑜2 − 𝑎1 𝑡𝐾𝑜1
1 2 2
𝐶2 = (𝑚1 𝑎1 ((𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥1 − 2 𝑎1 )𝑡𝐾𝑜1 + (2 𝑎1̇ − 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥1 )𝑡𝑅𝑒2 )) + 2 𝐸𝐷
3
𝐶3 = 𝑚1 𝑎1 𝑡𝐾𝑜1 + 𝑚2 𝑎2 𝑡𝐾𝑜2
𝐶4 = 𝑚1 𝑎1 𝑡𝑅𝑒1 + 𝑚2 𝑎2 𝑡𝑅𝑒2
The change in velocity of the two vehicles during the collision can be calculated by
inserting:
𝑚1 𝐶3 + 𝐶4
Δ𝑣1 = (Δ𝑣 + Δ𝑣̇ − )
𝑚1 + 𝑚2 𝑚2
With the described systems of equations the velocity changes caused by collisions
can be calculated. The following must be known:
Iputs: Available from:
One of the four velocities before and For example, a velocity can be used
after the collision from information from participants. A
velocity can also be determined, e.g.
from skid marks after the collision.
Δ𝑣̇ From mean value and/or wingspan
5 ± 3 km/h
Brake decelerations during and after Based on empirical values or
collision information from the parties involved
Remaining deformations and structural Measurement of the permanent
stiffness. Alternatively, EES values can deformation in the direction of the
be specified. For both vehicles at least shock drive
1 size must be specified. Structural stiffness from literature.
Evaluation of the damage patterns.
The following approximate relationship applies between Δ𝑣, 𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 Δ𝑣̇ :
0 1 0
10 0,65 6,5
20 0,32 6,4
30 0,22 6,6
40 0,16 6,4
50 0,11 5,5
60 0,09 5,4
70 0,08 5,6
80 0,07 5,6
90 0,06 5,4
In the range between 2 and 20 km/h:
k v'(km/h)
v (km/h) min medium max min medium max
2 0,99 1 1 2,0 2,0 2,0
4 0,70 0,97 1 2,8 3,9 4,0
6 0,55 0,90 0,98 3,3 5,4 5,9
8 0,43 0,66 0,95 3,4 5,3 7,6
10 0,35 0,54 0,85 3,5 5,4 8,5
12 0,28 0,45 0,72 3,4 5,4 8,6
14 0,23 0,39 0,63 3,2 5,5 8,8
16 0,20 0,33 0,54 3,2 5,3 8,6
18 0,17 0,29 0,48 3,1 5,2 8,6
20 0,14 0,26 0,45 2,8 5,2 9,0
CALCULATION OF PASSENGER ACCELERATION DUE TO COLLISIONS
The collision-related force acting on a person sitting in a vehicle is primarily
dependent on the acceleration of the vehicle, and in addition to the posture, the
seat construction also has a significant influence.
The deformation zone in the rear of the vehicle is simulated by spring 1 and in the
backrest of the vehicle seat by springs 2 and 3. Spring 2 simulates the seat
construction and spring 3 takes into account the influence of the upholstery. Springs
2 and 3 are arranged in series.
The mass m2 is only connected to the vehicle via spring 2 and spring 3, f2 and f3 must
be adapted to the body height.
𝐿
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 => 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝐹𝑆 (𝑆𝐻 + 𝑆𝐹)
It generally follows from the seat construction that the upholstery is deformed first
and only slightly the backrest. In this phase, the currently effective structural
stiffness fres has the value f3. This is actually the result of two springs connected one
after the other.
Once the maximum upholstery deformation has been reached, only the backrest
frame can still be deformed. From this point, the momentarily acting structural
stiffness (fres) assumes the value of f2 until the elastic limit of the backrest is reached
and fres decreases to usually about 1/3 (input in % possible) of the value of f 2.
The elastic limit is usually reached at 75 % (this value can be changed in the mask)
of the force limit. From the force limit fres assumes the value 0, i.e. the force remains
constant.
If a collision of a moving vehicle against the rear occurs, first the deformation of
spring 1 takes place and then the acceleration of the vehicle due to the acting spring
force. The deformation of spring 2 and spring 3 occurs due to the forward movement
of the seat which is moved with the passenger cell.
Because the velocity of the passenger cell is initially lower than that of the rear, the
deformation of spring 2 and spring 3 is also initially smaller and therefore the
acceleration of m2 as well. If the seat back is not extremely hard, its maximum
deformation is reached much later and thus the person in the seat also reaches the
maximum acceleration later.
The simulation of the seat with 2 springs connected in series offers the possibility of
limiting the cushion deformation or the flatter part of the structural stiffness. When
the initial structural stiffness is reached, usually when the upholstery is completely
compressed, spring 2 alone must be used for further calculations, so a much harder
spring comes into play.
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 = 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓2 + 𝜏 𝑥̇ 2
The mathematical solution to the above problem becomes simpler if, instead of a
vehicle colliding from behind, the vehicle model reverses against a fixed obstacle,
or, equivalently, if this obstacle is moved against the stationary vehicle at a constant
speed.
Only the structural stiffness of spring 1 and the impact velocity have to be adjusted
so that the same vehicle acceleration and deformation results.
For the resulting structural stiffness of the two vehicles, the following then applies:
𝑓𝑉𝑒ℎ1 𝑓𝑉𝑒ℎ2
𝑓1 =
𝑓𝑉𝑒ℎ1 + 𝑓𝑉𝑒ℎ2
This value has yet to be corrected, as only 1 vehicle is considered. One uses the
approach that the common spring is divided into two parts. The spring that is valid
for this one vehicle is an apparently shorter spring, the other part of the spring
belongs to the other vehicle. The lengths of these partial springs behave the other
way round as the masses. The division corresponds to the centre of mass. From this
follows:
𝑚2
𝑓1 => 𝑓1 (1 + )
𝑚1
For the aliquot deformation part of the common spring of both vehicles (s 1) the
following applies:
𝑚2
𝑠1 = 𝑠
𝑚1 + 𝑚2
𝑥̇ = 𝑥0 cos(𝜔𝑡)
x0 … Amplitude of the oscillation
And further:
𝑚2 𝑥̈ 2 = −𝑓2 (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 ) + 𝜏 𝑥̇ 2
This system of equations does not offer a closed solution and must therefore be
numerically integrated. One possible solution is a derived Runge-Kutta method. The
function is approximated by a lineament, i.e. it is divided into a large number of
lines (intervals). The velocity in the interval i can be expressed from the previous
and the following position as follows:
𝑥𝑖+1 − 𝑥𝑖−1
2 2
𝑥̇ 𝑖 =
Δ𝑡
Or:
𝑥𝑖+1 − 𝑥𝑖−1
𝑥̇ 𝑖 =
2Δ𝑡
i + ½ or i - ½ means the middle of the following or preceding interval. The analog
equation is valid for acceleration and can be transformed into:
𝑥𝑖+1 − 2 𝑥𝑖 + 𝑥𝑖−1
𝑥̈ 𝑖 =
(Δ 𝑡)²
Or:
𝑥𝑖 − 2 𝑥𝑖−1 + 𝑥𝑖−2
𝑥̈ 𝑖−1 =
(Δ 𝑡)²
It follows:
The error can be kept small by selecting a correspondingly small increment t. A
step size of t = 0.0002 s should normally suffice.
It should be noted that the springs cannot be assumed to be elastic. The integration
must therefore essentially be carried out in 3 steps:
1. First, a possible distance from the backrest must be taken into account. In
this case the integration has to be carried out by the following equation until
the distance becomes 0.
𝑚1 𝑥̈ 1 = −𝑓1 𝑥1
The maximum acceleration (deceleration) occurs when the speed of the vehicle
reaches 0. If the calculation of the passenger acceleration is carried out according
to the above procedure, the spring constant of the vehicle may not simply be used
at f1, but must be corrected accordingly (slightly), since here the total mass does
not take effect immediately, but only m1 - i.e. the total mass reduced by m2 - is
used.
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑚1 + 𝑚
𝑓1𝑎𝑙𝑡 2
𝑓1 => 𝑓1 = 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑠𝑑𝑦𝑛
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠
The term considers, that during collision via spring 2 also part of mass m1
𝑓1𝑎𝑙𝑡
becomes effective. The diagram below shows the backrest curve used for the preset
values. This curve does not include upholstery.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EES, PERMANENT DEFORMATION AND
STRUCTURAL STIFFNESS, CALCULATION OF COLLISION DURATION
x
x1 x2
1 2
Explanation of terms:
While a spring usually has a linear force-displacement relationship, this is usually not
the case with a vehicle structure. Depending on the depth of the indentation, there
is a different approximate slope of the curve F(s) and thus a different structural
stiffness. To a small extent, the force-distance relationship is also dependent on the
deformation velocity, i.e. on the collision velocity. From this it can be seen that
even the loading of the same vehicle structure can produce different average
structural stiffnesses depending on the penetration depth.
The mass of the vehicles affects the structural stiffness in several ways. The vehicle
manufacturers strive to achieve a very specific deceleration for the passengers in
the event of the legally prescribed wall impact with 100% overlap. This has led to
similar deformation distances in small cars as in luxury cars. The heavy luxury cars
must therefore have greater structural stiffness than the smaller, lighter vehicles.
Example of permanent deformation in mm:
From the example it follows that in the case of a wall impact with 100% overlap and
good approximation it could be said that 10 cm permanent deformation corresponds
to 10 km/h impact velocity. If such a car is deformed at the entire front by 50 cm,
then the impact velocity was about 50 km/h. Even with rust-weakened vehicles, this
correlation is largely retained.
Modern vehicles have special properties with regard to internal safety, vehicle
structure and structural rigidity. For example, miniclass vehicles are manufactured
with a particularly rigid body to prevent the interior from deforming. The braking
distance (formerly the crumple zone) for the passengers is transferred to the
interior. Large vehicles should deform more easily so that this results in more braking
distance for the smaller vehicles. So far, there are no uniform rules or procedures
for designing the structural stiffness of vehicles over their entire circumference.
CALCULATION FORMULAS
For the penetration of the vehicles it is assumed that at the point of impact at each
vehicle there is a linear relationship between force and distance. Damping is not
taken into account, which means that the collision duration tends to be too short.
After the vehicles have reached their maximum penetration, there is still a low
springback.
The collision duration corresponds approximately to twice the value of the
penetration duration or half of a complete oscillation period. The duration until the
maximum penetration is reached is calculated from a quarter of the period of the
complete oscillation. The period duration is:
𝑚
𝑇 =2𝜋√
𝑐
𝑇 𝑚
𝑡𝑘 = 2 =𝜋√
4 𝑐
In this formula, m is the mass of a body vibrating on a spring with stiffness c. m and
c cannot be used directly. Firstly, the vehicle mass must be reduced to the impact
normal, and secondly, it must be taken into account that two vehicles are involved.
This would be comparable to two masses located at the ends of a spring.
Spring model:
The common spring stiffness results from the series connection of two springs of
different stiffness as follows. A collision situation should be considered, as shown in
the following figure:
One can see from the picture that the springs act in the direction of the contact
normal. This has several meanings:
The vehicle mass acts completely on the spring in vehicle 1, but only partially
in vehicle 2. This means that the vehicle mass must be reduced to the contact
normal.
The collision duration will only be calculated correctly if it is an impact
without slipping. In the case of a collision with slipping, the spring stiffness is
calculated correctly from the penetration in normal direction within the
framework of idealisation, but not the duration of the collision. The value GEV
is defined as the characteristic value for slip. If this drops below 0.85, the
collision duration is no longer calculated; it must be determined by the user
from the simulation by observing how long the vehicles remain in contact with
each other.
The spring constants (structural stiffness) c of the two vehicles must be calculated.
The permanent penetration depths, which are derived from the damage patterns of
the two vehicles, are available for this purpose. These permanent penetration depths
must be determined in the normal direction, which happens automatically in
AnalyzerPro if the vehicles have been correctly brought into collision position
according to their damage. The calculated EES values are also available. Thus the
structural stiffnesses can be calculated from these values. In a new reference
system, which is installed in the point of contact (centre of mass), i.e. between
spring 1 and spring 2, the problem can be examined in an idealized way.
Mass proportional re-deformation:
The basic idea is that the springback behaviour is largely proportional to the mass.
This would have the consequence that the contact surface in the coordinate system
moved with the center of mass remains relatively calm.
As a general rule, the spring forces in the contact area must be the same at all times
(actio = reactio). Thus, the reaction forces (inertia force and tyre force) at the other
ends of the springs must be equally big, opposite and equal to the spring forces. The
following applies to the amounts:
The inertia and friction forces act in the opposite direction in the case of the vehicle
bumping into the front vehicle (vehicle 2) and in the same direction in the case of
vehicle 1. The respective structural stiffness c = F/sdyn can be expressed by:
𝑚
𝑐= (𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥 ± 𝑎)
𝑠𝑑𝑦𝑛
The deformation work from the permanent deformation follows from the area
enclosed by the spring characteristic curves:
FRe FD
s
1 1 1
𝐸𝐷 = 𝑐 𝑠𝑑𝑦𝑛 𝑠𝐷 = 𝑚 (𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥 ± 𝑎)𝑠𝐷 = 𝑚 𝐸𝐸𝑆 2
2 2 2
This results in the maximum acceleration for each vehicle at the end of the
compression phase:
𝐸𝐸𝑆12
𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥1 = − 𝑎1
𝑠𝐷1
𝐸𝐸𝑆22
𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥2 = + 𝑎2
𝑠𝐷2
And:
𝑠𝐷1 𝑚1 𝐸𝐸𝑆12
=
𝑠𝐷2 𝑚2 𝐸𝐸𝑆22
The structural stiffness could be calculated from the above equation if the dynamic
deformation were known. The deviation between dynamic and permanent
deformation can be considerable, especially at low collision speeds, and must not be
neglected under any circumstances.
The calculation of the dynamic deformation is based on the area enclosed in the
figure above. For the derivation of the equation a coordinate system attached in the
common mass center is used. This has the advantage that the following can be said:
The kinetic energy of the system is zero at the end of the compression phase.
The kinetic energy at the end of the restitution phase corresponds to the area
under the spring characteristic curve of the restitution phase.
The following equations apply, whereby the letter u is used for the velocities
in the new reference system
𝑚1 𝑣1 + 𝑚2 𝑣2
𝑣𝑚 =
𝑚1 + 𝑚2
𝑢1 = 𝑣1 − 𝑣𝑚 𝑢2 = 𝑣2 − 𝑣𝑚
𝑢̇ 1 = 𝑣̇ 1 − 𝑣𝑚 𝑢̇ 2 = 𝑣̇ 2 − 𝑣𝑚
The velocity differences remain unchanged.
If the law of conservation of energy is applied in such a system, the total kinetic
energy is converted into deformation during compression and is then 0 at the end of
the compression phase. Energy then flows back into the system again during the re-
deformation.
The velocity difference of the two bodies at the end of the restitution phase
corresponds to the separation velocity of the contact points in normal direction
calculated from the collision analysis (𝑣𝐵𝑛1
′ ′
− 𝑣𝐵𝑛2 ). Thus the law of conservation of
energy for the restitution phase and the case that vehicle 1 is the pushed is:
1 1 ′ 2
𝐸1 = 𝑐1 𝑠𝑑𝑦𝑛1 (𝑠𝑑𝑦𝑛1 − 𝑠𝐷1 ) = 𝑚1 𝑣𝐵𝑛1
2 2
This results in the equation for determining the structural stiffness of both vehicles.
Applying the formula means that of the variables v' and the six "structural
variables", namely EES1, EES2, SD1, SD2, c1, c2, only three must be given in addition to
v', the remaining two can be calculated.
1
𝑐1 =
𝑠
(𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑠 Δ𝑣 ′2 + 𝑚1 𝐸𝐸𝑆12 (1 + 𝑠𝐷2 )) 𝑠𝐷1
2
𝐷1 1
−𝑐
𝑚12 𝐸𝐸𝑆14 2
Applying the formula means that only two of the variables v' and the six "structural
variables" need to be given in addition to v', the remaining two can be calculated.
However, a structural stiffness must be given. It is interesting, however, that due to
the constraints that the dynamic deformation cannot be smaller than the permanent
deformation, a relatively small possible range results for the possible structural
stiffness. The smaller v' is, the smaller this range is.
In cases where very different impact partners are present, for example in crash tests
against a rigid barrier, it will be necessary to define a non-linear characteristic curve
for a vehicle. In this case, however, it is not always possible to assume a mass-
proportional re-deformation behaviour.
In some crash tests, an acceleration (force) time curve was measured, where it is
noticeable that the duration until reaching the maximum force is only slightly longer
than the duration from the maximum to reaching the value 0. Since the extent of
the damage can be assumed to be largely plastic, the end of the compression phase
may not have been reached at the highest point. The area under the acceleration-
time curve corresponds to the velocity change. In a plastic collision, the velocity
change during the compression phase is greater than during the restitution phase.
The restitution phase therefore begins towards the end of the acceleration-time
curve, i.e. at a point where the maximum has already been exceeded. This can only
be explained by an area of the force-deformation curve with a negative slope starting
at the maximum.
While vehicle 1 behaves "normally", it is assumed that at the end of the compression
phase vehicle 2 enters an area where the structure collapses. It seems largely
unlikely that exactly the same force will occur in the collision partner. For this reason
one can assume that the force increase of this vehicle can be described by a linear
function. Also with this vehicle it can come during the deformation to a partial
collapse of the momentarily involved structure. In the course of the further
deformation, however, a fixed structure will again be achieved. The linear function
represents the average course as an approximation.
Deformation:
At the end of the compression phase of a vehicle, an area can be reached which can
only be approximated inaccurately by a linear function.
For a short phase, the force can remain approximately constant (µ 2s2) and then the
structure can become unstable. This means that the force-distance curve gets a
negative slope (decrease of the curve up to k2F). k2F is the force at the end of the
compression phase. During the section with constant force at vehicle 2, vehicle 1
remains at the highest point of the force, then vehicle 1 undergoes a re-deformation
up to k2F, while vehicle 2 continues to deform at the same time. Since this takes
place at the expense of vehicle 2, the energy released in vehicle 1 is not converted
into kinetic energy, but used for the deformation energy of vehicle 2. Therefore, the
deformation up to k2F has no effect on the kinetic energy after the collision ( velocity
difference of the contact points). Therefore, only the energy corresponding to the
area of the small right-angled triangle below k2F flows back into the system.
Force:
The figure shows the course of the force as a function of the total deformation. The
total maximum deformation is slightly smaller than the sum of the maximum
deformation of each individual vehicle.
The structural stiffness of vehicle 2 must be defined. The increase from the zero
point to the upper left corner of the deformation figure would be possible. This would
correspond to the average structural stiffness. However, this definition does not
correspond to the increase in force to the maximum of the force. The recommended
definition is therefore the increase at the front of the curve. In the formulas below,
c2 corresponds to this definition. The difference lies in the factor d2 defined below.
𝐴 = 𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑠 Δ𝑣 ′2 𝑑2 = 1 − 𝜆2 − 𝜇2
𝑏2 = 1 + 𝜇2 + 𝜆2 𝑘2 − 𝑘2 𝑔2 = 1 + 𝜇2 + 𝜆2 𝑘2
The following shall apply:
1 1
𝐸𝐷1 = 𝑐1 𝑠1 𝑙1 = 𝑚1 𝐸𝐸𝑆12
2 2
𝐸1 = 𝑐1 𝑠1 𝑙1
1 1
𝐸𝐷2 = 𝑐2 𝑠2 𝑑2 (𝑘2 𝑙2 + 𝑏2 𝑠2 ) = 𝑚2 𝐸𝐸𝑆22
2 2
𝐸2 = 𝑐2 𝑠2 𝑑2 (𝑘2 𝑙2 + 𝑏2 𝑠2 )
𝑐2 𝑑2 𝑠2 = 𝑐1 𝑠1
𝐴 = 𝑘2 𝑐1 𝑠1 (𝑠2 − 𝑙2 + 𝑘2 (𝑠1 − 𝑙1 )
It follows:
𝐸1 𝑚1 𝐸𝐸𝑆12 𝑙1
= 2 =
𝐸2 𝑚2 𝐸𝐸𝑆2 𝑘2 𝑙2 + 𝑏2 𝑠2
𝐸1 𝑙2 (𝑘2 + 𝑏2 ) 𝐸1 𝑔2 𝑙2 𝑘2 + 𝐴 𝑙1 𝑏2
≤ 𝐸2 ≤
𝑙1 𝑙1 (𝑔2 − 𝑏2 )
𝐸1 𝐸1 𝐸1
𝐴 = 𝑘2 ( − 𝑙2 + 𝑘2 ( − 𝑙1 ))
𝑙1 𝑐2 𝑙1 𝑑2 𝑐1 𝑙1
Or c2:
𝐸1 𝑑2 𝑙1 𝐸2 − 𝑘2 𝑙2 𝐸1 𝐸1
𝐴 = 𝑘2 ( − 𝑙2 + 𝑘2 ( − 𝑙1 ))
𝑙1 𝐸1 𝑏2 𝑐1 𝑙1
If this formula set is used in conjunction with the momentum method, it must be
taken into account that the momentum method supplies the total deformation
energy ED. E1 + E2 = 2 ED is therefore available as an equation. In addition to the
deformations, there must also be structural stiffness. Here, too, only a relatively
small range is possible for the structural stiffness.
Collision duration:
In the model used here, two massless springs meet. The forces acting at the ends of
the springs are the same, so the two springs can be considered as one spring with a
resulting spring stiffness.
One can see from the picture that the springs act in the direction of the contact
normal. This has several meanings: The vehicle mass acts completely on the spring
in vehicle 1, but only partially in vehicle 2. This means that the vehicle masses must
be reduced to the contact normal. The vehicle mass is replaced by its reduced mass
in each case.
𝑖2
𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 𝑚
𝑖 2 𝑎²
m… Mass of the vehicle
𝐽
i… Radius of gyration: 𝑖 = √𝑚
J… Moment of inertia
𝑙1 + 𝑙2 𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑1 + 𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑2
𝑐𝐸1 = 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑠 = 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑙1 𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑2
The equation for the other spring is obtained by swapping the indices. The collision
duration can now be calculated:
𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑡𝐾 = 𝜋 √
𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑠
With:
𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑1 + 𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑2
𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑠 =
𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑1 𝑚𝑟𝑒𝑑2
An alternative for the calculation of the impact duration is given by the following
formula:
vBn or v'Bn are the values of the contact point velocities in the direction of the impact
normal before or after the collision. The above formula also follows from the spring
model and also provides the same value in the case of a linear characteristic.
However, it can also be used in the case of a self-defined structure. The factor π/2
is a consequence of the linear characteristic and will probably have to be increased
in the non-linear case. If the factor π/2 is used, this means a change of the velocity
according to a cosine function: at the beginning a little less, towards the end a little
more. If the factor 2 is used, then this means a change of the speed according to a
linear function - thus an steady change.
In AnalyzerPro, the calculation is more precise, the time is calculated separately for
each area with different behavior. For the area with a negative slope of the force-
deformation curve, an iterative calculation method must be used. No closed solution
for time can be derived from the given distance and the acceleration as a function
of the distance. If a collision duration could be calculated, the mean center of gravity
acceleration can also be calculated. The maximum acceleration of the center of
gravity can be assumed to be about twice as large.