LRV Compression Loads: Statistical Data and Recommendations
Carbody compression resistance is a major LRV safety feature in head-on collisions. Regrettably, one of the difficulties in writing LRV specifications has been establishing credible values for the design compression loads that the carbody shall demonstrate to resist. One reason for this difficulty is that setting compression loads involves judgment and therefore is to a great degree subjective. The other is that vehicle engineers have been setting design compression loads in relative isolation from each other, without the benefit of a broader discussion among them. This paper will attempt to reconcile the various positions and, based on statistical data, will recommend median values for compression loads as a function of carset kinetic energy.