ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 July 1986
Page Count: 17

Speed Analysis of Passenger Cars in Free-Fall Launch Motions
Le Fevre, WF
Consulting engineer, William F. Le Fevre Co. Two Commerce Park Square, OH

(Received 31 August 1985; accepted 13 November 1985)

Abstract

Applied forensic engineering in the field of accident reconstruction is often required to determine vehicle speeds in crash and collision cases. One type of automobile crash is that in which a car becomes airborne after being launched from an abrupt change of ground contour. This treatise covers an analysis of speed at launch based on measured distances from a launch surface to the landing point and on the slope of the launch surface. A refinement is introduced accounting for the effect of pitch motion of the vehicle to obtain a more accurate evaluation of speed.

Keywords:
engineering, accidents, automobiles, collision research

Paper ID: JFS11098J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11098J
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