DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW EMERGENCY RESCUE VEHICLE

ENTWICKLUNG EINS NEUEN RETTUNGSWAGENKONZEPTES

The necessity to develop a new rescue vehicle concept results from the fact that the vibration burden for occupants - patients as well as attendants - is by far larger in current rescue vehicles than in passenger cars with an average suspension system. Even on roads with average surface quality the pertinent standards cannot be met. Two reasons cause this situation: on the one hand current rescue vehicles are built up on truck chassis, which are not designed to meet rescue vehicle criteria and on the other hand the support of the patient is not adapted to the characteristics of the car suspension systems. To achieve a major improvement of the vibration behaviour computer models both analog and digital were used to optimize the suspension system with respect to minimum vibration burden by taking into account also a set of defined boundary conditions for the driving stability. From these calculations results a rescue vehicle concept, by which the vibration burden of the patient is lowered by a factor of 4 and which is characterized by the following main features: comparatively wide wheel base and low resonance frequency of body and suspension system. The latter feature can only be realized by a car design with front wheel drive and independent suspension and thereby low centre of gravity and large spring track if a sufficient driving stability shall be maintained. Following the theoretical optimization and according to its results, a rescue vehicle was designed and built on the basis of a suitable production vehicle as a prototype. First experimental results confirm the low vibration burden as predicted by the computer optimization. /TRRL/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sixteenth International Automobile Technical Congress.
• Corporate Authors:

  International Federation of Auto Techniques Engs

  3 Avenue du President Wilson
  F 75116 Paris,   France 
• Authors:
  • Potuschnik, C
  • Roehl, E
  • Wolff, H
• Publication Date: 0

Language

• German

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 1
• Serial:
  • Publication of: International Federation of Auto Techniques Engs
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: International Federation of Auto Techniques Engs

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analog computers; Conferences; Digital computers; Emergency vehicles; Front wheel drive; Mathematical models; Motor vehicle bodies; Prototypes; Resonance; Resonance frequency; Stability (Mechanics); Suspension systems; Vehicle design; Vibration; Wheel base
• Uncontrolled Terms: Decreases; Models
• Old TRIS Terms: Automobile bodies; Suspension (Stability)
• ITRD Terms: 1356: Body (car); 8525: Conference; 9009: Decrease; 8673: Digital computer; 6473: Mathematical model; 9109: Prototype; 5569: Resonance; 1329: Suspension (veh); 5558: Vibration
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00163322
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: Analytic
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 7 1978 12:00AM