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Exposure to high level of vibrations encountered in driver’s cabin of heavy duty truck over extended time causes driver fatigue and leads to serious health disorders. In most of the current heavy duty trucks in India, absence of proper vibration isolation system for driver’s seat results in transmission of high levels of vibration to the driver. A proper seat isolation system, combined with proper cushioning of seat can considerably reduce vibration transmissibility to the driver. The work presented here addresses the problem of vibration levels in a heavy duty truck and proposes solution for reducing vibration transmissibility to driver seat by using isolation and cushioning system. Vibration levels on floor, driver’s seat and seat back of an existing truck were measured using tri-axial accelerometer and 9 channel spectrum analyzer. Measured vibration levels in the vertical direction were found to be exceeding comfortable level.

Design of vehicle structure to provide safe structural environment for occupants of vehicles involved in high speed (> 15 km/h) collisions has drawn considerable resources as safety of humans is at stake. Low speed impacts, since these do not cause severe injuries to the occupants, do not generate much concern. However, structural design for this situation has generated a lot of interest among insurance companies as the structural damage caused by these types of collisions is substantial, requiring significant payments by the insurance companies. In this work alternative designs for crash-box have been assessed for RCAR (Research Council of Automotive Repairs) requirement for frontal crash. Using structural details of an existing sedan, various designs of crash-box that can be fitted within the packaging space have been assessed for low speed impact.

Expanding and improving road network in India has been a catalyst for increased use of road transport in both passenger and goods sector. With improved road quality, bigger commercials vehicles have entered the market. These provide a larger cabin area and better amenities in the truck driver cabin. One of the most welcome features is berths for lying down and sleeping. In most designs though, only the functionality of the berth has been taken into consideration. Safety of the occupants of the berths in the event of panic braking or collision of the vehicle, has not been given adequate consideration. In this work, design of such berths from occupant safety point of view has been assessed. Kinematics of occupants, sleeping in different typical postures, during frontal impact, has been simulated and resulting critical injury levels have been estimated. Based on this information, different arrangements of belts in “screen” type configuration were developed.