Citation

Fuerbeth U. Forensic Sci. Int. 2024; 361: e112073.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112073

PMID

38843764

Abstract

In vehicular accident reconstruction, a number of parameters need to be estimated, as commonly no specific measurement data or convenient measurement methods are available. One of these parameters is the position of a car's centre of gravity. Depending on the impact configuration, the centre of gravity may have a significant influence on the reconstruction result. A number of regression models and rules of thumb have already been developed in the past to calculate the position of the centre of gravity. The further automotive vehicle development in recent years has led to different vehicle architectures with larger masses. This study therefore deals with developing and testing a new regression model for vehicles, distinguishing between conventional and electric drives. That is based on the analysis of 147 rollover stability measurements of road vehicles from the years 2016-2022. The model developed from these tests for the centre of gravity height shows a good fit with the measurement data and only requires knowledge of the roof height.

Language: en

Keywords

Stability; Motor vehicle; Accident reconstruction; Centre of gravity (CG); CG height; Driving dynamics; Rollover