Dynamic response of a rollover protective structure

Abstract

Roll Over Protective Structures (ROPS) are safety devices fitted to heavy vehicles to provide protection to the operator during an accidental roll over. At present, ROPS design standards require full scale destructive testing which can be expensive, time consuming and unsuitable for small companies. More economical analytical methods are not permitted due to a lack of understanding on post yield behaviour and energy absorption capacity of ROPS. With this in mind, a research project was carried out to comprehensively investigate ROPS behaviour using analytical techniques supported by experiments. This paper presents the dynamic impact analysis of a bulldozer ROPS using calibrated finite element models. Results indicate that (i) ROPS posts have significant influence on the energy absorbing capacity,(ii) dynamic amplifications in energy could be up to 25% and (iii) stiffer ROPS cause high peak decelerations that may be detrimental to the operator. The feasibility of using analytical techniques for evaluating ROPS performance has also been demonstrated.