Heavy Truck Rear Underride Protection

摘要

The Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC) has initiated a program to developand evaluate the effectiveness of a rear guard design. VRTC developed a rigid static test device and successfully fabricated a minimally compliant guard design. A number of additional guards were fabricated and tested to evaluate the repeatability of the design. A rigid simulated trailer was developed to mount the guard for dynamic testing. Two sub-compact and two compact vehicle models were selected for crash testing to evaluate the effectiveness of the minimally compliant guard design in preventing rear underride injuries. Tests were conducted using the simulated trailer and an actual tractor trailer. An additional crash test was performed with a rigid guard configuration to compare with the results of the minimally compliant design.