Investigation of the Influence of Vehicle Payload on Rollover Behavior

Rollover behavior is a complex phenomenon that has gained importance for the development of SUVs. As part of a cooperation project between Audi AG and TU Dresden, previous works have focused on developing a new methodology of rollover behavior analysis. Subsequently, this paper demonstrates the application of this methodology to analyze the effects of customer loading situations on the vehicle. A systematic approach to derive loading models for the vehicle development process and a method to implement loading models in a validated simulation environment are presented. Furthermore, rollover behavior is discussed, and consequential the most important loading model is identified using simulation and the introduced cause and effect chains methodology. Furthermore, this paper focuses also on the stringency of applying loading models in the development process considering vehicle testing procedures and conditions.