A rollover indicator based on the prediction of the load transfer in presence of sliding: application to an All Terrain Vehicle

The lateral rollover of quad bikes represents a significant part of severe accidents in the field of agricultural work. The specificities of such vehicles (small wheelbase, track and weight, as well as high speed), together with the terrain configuration (off-road environment) prevent from describing rollover occurrence as it is proposed for car-like vehicles. In particular, sliding effects significantly affects the evaluation of the rollover risk. This paper proposes a rollover risk indicator dedicated to off-road vehicles, taking into account the environment properties and more particularly the grip condition and its variation. It is based on the prediction of the lateral load transfer relying on vehicles models including sliding effects. This indicator can be run on-line when the vehicle is moving. It allows anticipating a potential danger, and could then be used to design security systems. Performances of this indicator are demonstrated using the multibody dynamic simulation software Adams.