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Accident Reconstruction Science Fourth Edition - Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company, Inc.

Accident Reconstruction Science Fourth Edition

$ 99.00

  • Author: Alan Watts
  • ISBN 10: 1-936360-03-9
  • ISBN 13: 978-1-936360-03-1
  • Copyright Date Ed:  October 1, 2011
  • Pages: 416
  • Binding Information: Casebound
  • Size: 6 ✕ 9 Inches (US)

Written for the reconstructionist, attorney, automotive engineer, or other interested professional, this brand new edition examines the science of reconstructing and analyzing an automobile accident. Learn how to analyze accidents and judge speed from the final position of the vehicle. Also covered are topics such as sideswipe collisions, rollovers, calculations of collision timing and accelerations and measuring vehicle crush, among many others. Dr. Alan Watts explains basic concepts of physics, and then applies them to accident reconstruction. The text will be readily understood by any reader with a basic understanding of accident reconstruction; however, full details and equation derivations are provided for those with either higher technical education or a wish to more fully understand the issues.

Topics Include

  • General material loading responses
  • Vehicle crush response for impacts into rigid barriers
  • Crush responses in two-vehicle, low speed collisions
  • Computer modeling methods
  • Energetics of collisions
  • Bumper behavior
  • Integrated hits and other effects
  • Interesting mechanical models
  • Comparisons between the CRASH3 and the POD models
  • Proper solutions to various problems
  • Rollovers and side trips
  • Mounting and surviving
  • Specific examples and animations
  • Accident reconstruction definitions and other notes

This book is also available as an E-book. Click here to purchase and download:

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Understanding the Physics

1.2 Accuracy

1.3 Terminology

1.4 A Matter of Perspective

Chapter 2: General Material Loading Responses

2.1 Energy and Force

2.2 Responses to Force

A. Elastic Response

B. Plastic Response

C. Viscoelastic Response

D. Brittle Response

2.3 Other Definitions

A. Stress

B. Strain

2.4 Sign Convention

Chapter 3: Vehicle Crush Response for Low-Speed Impacts into Rigid Barriers

3.1 The Bumper Response

3.2 Vehicle Crush Characteristics

3.3 The Difference between Input and Absorbed Energy

Chapter 4: Crush Responses in Two-Vehicle, Low-Speed Collisions

4.1 In-Line Collisions

4.2 Post-Impact Speeds

4.3 Coefficient of Restitution

4.4 Critical Damage Speed

4.5 Numerical Values of R and a

4.6 Contact Time

4.7 Distance Moved during Impact

4.8 Braking during Impact

4.9 The Engineer’s Box

4.10 Rule of Thumb: The “One-mph-per-Inch-Crush” Rule

4.11 Incomplete and Side Impacts

4.12 Partial or Sideswipe Impacts

4.13 Induced Rotations

4.14 Movie Theatrics

4.15 Payload Considerations

4.16 Sensitivity Analysis

Chapter 5: Computer Modeling Methods

5.1 Introduction

5.2 The CRASH3 Program

5.3 Multiple Hits on a Vehicle

5.4 Issues to Watch Out For

Chapter 6: Energetics of Collisions

6.1 The Energetics of a Collision

6.2 The Critical Speeds

6.3 Example: Two-Car Crash Effects

6.4 Relative Energy Absorption

Chapter 7: Bumper Behavior

7.1 Energy-Absorbing Bumpers

7.2 Sensitivity to Non-Linearity

7.3 Preload Effects and Isolator Friction

7.4 Isolator Aging

7.5 Viscous Behavior of Plastic Bumpers

7.6 Transmission of Bumper Force

7.7 Static versus Dynamic Isolator Forces

7.8 Bumper Stroking versus Delta-v: Restitution for Car-to-Car Impacts

Chapter 8: Integrated Hits and Other Effects

8.1 Absorbed Energy (Again) and the Multiple-Hit Logic

8.2 Front-to-Front versus Front-to-Rear Impacts

8.3 Bumper Speed Limits

8.4 Damage: Car-to-Car versus Car-to-Barrier

8.5 Bumper-to-Bumper versus Bumper-to-Soft-Bodywork

A. Case A: Bumper-to-Bumper

B. Case B: Bumper-to-Soft-Bodywork

C. Discussion

8.6 Aggressivity of Trucks and SUVs

Chapter 9: Interesting Mechanical Models

9.1 Internal Damage

9.2 Beam Bending

9.3 The Soda-Can Model

Chapter 10: Comparisons between the CRASH3 and the POD Models

10.1 The Values of R and a, and the CRASH3 Equivalents A and B

10.2 Updates for CRASH3 and SLAM

10.3 Occam’s Razor

10.4 Paths and Loci

Chapter 11: Proper Solutions to Various Problems

11.1 Solving the Equations

11.2 How Not to Solve a Problem

11.3 Experiments versus Theory: Balderdash, Dishonesty and Junk Science

11.4 Component Testing versus Systems Testing

11.5 Angular Momentum (AM)

A. Option A

B. Option B

C. Option C

11.6 Submarine Collision Logic

11.7 Special Cases

11.8 The Influence of Restitution on Multicar Impacts

Chapter 12: Rollovers and Side Trips

12.1 Background

12.2 Types of Rollover

A. Cornering Rollover (Turn)

1. Centripetal and centrifugal rotational effects

2. Tire forces and direction

3. True dynamics versus accident reconstruction

4. The roll

5. Rotation rate

6. Contact-point lift-off

7. Time of roll

8. Does the roll continue?

9. Sensitivity to unknowns in R and Krot

10. Conclusions for a simple turn roll

B. The Curb Impact Trip Condition

12.3 The Side Slide Case

Chapter 13: A Typical Mathcad Solution

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Code Output

Chapter 14: Side-Swipe Collisions

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Small-Angle Effects

14.3 The K Factors

Chapter 15: Measuring the Crush

15.1 Introduction

15.2 Measuring the Crush

Chapter 16: The Heavy Vehicle versus Light Vehicle Problem

16.1 Introduction

16.2 Can We Build a Lightweight Car and Maintain Safety?

16.3 Four Solutions

Chapter 17: Conservation of Linear Momentum

Chapter 18: Event Data Recorders (EDRs)

Chapter 19: Going Round the Bend: Critical Yaw Velocity and Steering Logic

19.1 Introduction

19.2 Steering Effects

19.3 Higher Speeds

19.4 Yawing, Understeer and Oversteer

19.5 The Yaw Critical Velocity

19.6 High Rate Cornering and Electronic Stability Control

19.7 Mathcad Plots

Appendix A: Accident Reconstruction Definitions and Other Notes


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