Technical Paper
Comparison of Tractor-Trailer Rollover Tests and HVE Simulation
2024-04-09
2024-01-2487
Commercial combination vehicles, configured as a truck-tractor and semitrailer, are designed to transport a wide variety of heavy loads over great distances. Because of their size, mass and proportions, combination vehicles have less lateral roll stability than other types of vehicles on the road. As a result, it is easier for drivers to maneuver their commercial combination vehicle beyond its rollover threshold, compared to drivers of light vehicles. Few publications in the public domain explore the unique dynamics of combination vehicle rollovers. Even fewer publications correlate available reconstruction methods with available experimental data. To better understand commercial combination vehicle rollovers, IMMI conducted two quarter-turn rollover crash tests involving a remotely controlled truck-tractor and a loaded van semitrailer.