Rollover Testing

Several rollover test methods are used to study vehicle and occupant dynamics, vehicle structural performance, and occupant protection countermeasures in rollover accidents. Exponent has the capability to conduct a variety of static and dynamic tests to assist in these evaluations. Automobile rollovers are chaotic events and it can be very complex to isolate the occupant injury within a series of discrete vehicle-to-ground impacts. To facilitate the understanding of the complex nature of test data collected during rollover tests, the high fidelity data can be synchronized with the high-speed video for analysis and presentation purposes.

Static test capabilities include quasi-static roof crush fixtures utilized for FMVSS 216, FMVSS 220, and ECE R29 protocols.  These test fixtures are capable of loading entire vehicle roof systems and can be easily configured to accommodate nearly any loading orientation and configuration. Depending on the test requirements, different mounting methods can be used to impart loads on a full body, cab, or frame of a vehicle.

Exponent’s inverted drop test fixture provides a dynamic test to evaluate vehicle-to-ground impacts at a variety of vehicle orientations and drop heights. Exponent’s facility can invert and release a fully-instrumented vehicle up to the size of a full-sized van, producing specific roof-to-ground impacts. The Controlled Rollover Impact System (CRIS), developed in conjunction with Ford Motor Company, provides a repeatable test methodology for evaluating roof-to-ground impacts for a translating and rotating vehicle. In addition, Exponent has the capability of conducting FMVSS 208 dolly rollover testing on both paved and soil surfaces. Exponent’s crashworthy steering controller allows us to create the entire rollover crash sequence, either on-road or off-road. The ground-based dynamic spin fixture provides a test device to study occupant response from centripetal accelerations.

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