Crash Testing with a DDEC 10 Equipped Tractor
Two crash tests were conducted on 20 March 2011 at the Reynolds Airpark near Jacksonville, FL. This testing was done in conjunction with the Institute for Police Technology and Management (IPTM) as part of their preparation for the 2012 Special Problems Conference. The two crashes performed were with two different Cadillac Devilles into the rear of an empty semi-trailer attached to a 2012 Freightliner Cascadia. The first test was performed such that the Cadillac was pulled by the truck into the trailer so the speed of the Cadillac was twice that of the trailer. The second crash had similar closing velocities, but the tractor-trailer combination was stationary with no brakes. During these tests, the J1939 network traffic was recorded and a DDEC Reports was obtained. Correlating signals using a common time base was explored by transmitting signals from a VBox 3i GPS onto the J1939 network. This resulted in fault codes due to overloading the CAN-bus. Dynamic data from accelerometers and video records of the crash are also presented in this article.
The organization of this page is as follows:
- Crash Test Videos
- Description of the Vehicles
- Syncronization of Data Using the J1939 Network
- Crash Testing Procedure
Crash Test Video Links
One of the most popular aspects of crash testing is the video produced from such an event. The following table contains links for the original file from the camera along with conversions to Windows Media Video (WMV) and MPEG-4 files that are iPhone/iPad compatible.
To download the file, try right-clicking the link and select Save Link As or something similar.
Crash Test 1
These videos show a Cadillac Deville running into the back of a moving trailer.
| Description | Original File | Windows wmv | Apple MP4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Video VBox Showing |
VideoVBOXCrash1.AVI (51.14 MB) |
VideoVBoxCrash1.wmv (4.01 MB) |
VideoVBoxCrash1.mp4 (13.36 MB) |
| High Speed (300 fps) Left Side Moving View |
CIMG1043.MOV (8.86 MB) |
LeftViewMovingUnderride.wmv (3.98 MB) |
LeftViewMovingUnderride.mp4 (5.14 MB) |
| View from Back of Trailer (High Def) |
ViewFromTrailer.mpg (33.26 MB) |
ViewFromTrailer-Small.wmv (1.59 MB) |
ViewFromTrailer_H264_1280x720 |
Crash Test 2
These videos show a Cadillac Deville running into the back of a stationary trailer.
| Description | Original File | Windows wmv | Apple MP4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Video VBox Mounted |
VideoVBOXCrash2.AVI (6.27 MB) |
VideoVBoxCrash2.wmv (912 kB) |
VideoVBoxCrash2.mp4 (2.59 MB) |
| High Speed (300 fps) Right Side View 1 |
CIMG1046.MOV (9.07 MB) |
RightViewUnderride1.wmv (4.08 MB) |
RightViewUnderride1.mp4 (13.98 MB) |
| High Speed (240 fps) Right Side View 2 |
CIMG0410.AVI (34.66 MB) |
RightViewUnderride2.wmv (3.98 MB) |
RightViewUnderride2.mp4 (5.14 MB) |
High Speed (300 fps) |
CIMG2342.MOV (11.89 MB) |
RightViewUnderride3.wmv (3.12 MB) |
RightViewUnderride3.mp4 (5.14 MB) |
The data file that corresponds to the Video VBox is VBox Lite Data From Crash2.vbo. This is a plain text file that can be imported into Excel.
Vehicle Descriptions
Truck Tractor and Semi-trailer Combination
Truck
The truck was a 2011 Freightliner Cascadia Day cab 6x4 truck tractor with a Detroit Diesel DD13 engine. It used a 4S/4M Electronic Brake Controller.
VIN: 1FUJGEDV3C8BD6318
GVWR (lb) 52,000
Date of Manufacturer: 02/11
The following image is from the placard in the dash of the cab.
The following photo is from the tag on the axle. The differential gear ratio is 3.70 as shown in the Component Information Tag.
It used a 10-speed manual Eaton-Fuller FRO-15210C transmission.
Trailer
A Wabash FRP-707C 53 ft box van trailer was connected to the truck. The rear axles on the trailer were placed in the farthest forward position.
Weights
Cadillac from Test 1
VIN: 1G6KD52B3RU231203
Year, Make and Model: 1994 Cadillac Deville
Weight in pounds as weighed with Intercomp Race Scales:
- Total: 3588
- Right Front: 1165
- Left Front: 1104
- Left Rear: 662
- Right Rear: 656
Cadillac from Test 2
VIN: 1G6KD52YXTU255428
Year, Make and Model: 1994 Cadillac Deville
Weight in pounds as weighed with Intercomp Race Scales:
- Total: 3588
- Right Front: 1165
- Left Front: 1104
- Left Rear: 662
- Right Rear: 656
Syncronizing Data Using the J1939 Network
J1939 Baseline Data
VectorCANCaseXLLogRawFiles.zip (35 MB)
Crash Testing Procedure
Vehicle Preparation
Data Acquisition Setup
VBox 3i
Vector CANCase XL Log
Video VBox
HBM eDaq Lite
Crash 1 Data With Both Vehicle Moving
VBox Data
The VBox 3i 100 Hz GPS was mounted in the cab of the truck with the satellite receiver taped to the fiberglass roof. The original data file for crash 1 is a VBO text file that can be imported as text in Excel. This file was also saved as a comma separated values (CSV) file that can be directly opened with Excel and is saved as Crash1-VBOX3iData-Truck.csv. A graph from the VBOX Tools is shown below. The red line is speed in MPH. The scales for the other traces on the graph are not shown. This is an example of the data in the files mentioned in this paragraph.
For crash 2 the tractor was stationary, so the VBox 3i was moved to the Caddilac. The original file is Crash2-VBOX3iData-Cadillac.VBO that can be opened in Racelogic's VBox Tools or as a text file in a spreadsheet. Crash2-VBOX3iData-Cadillac.csv is a file that will open directly into Excel. Below is the speed graph of the Cadillac from test 2.
The noise associated with the impact comes from the lid of the trunk coming open during impact. The metal truck lid blocked satelites while it was in motion. This explains the multiple zeros during the crash event. Review of the high speed video shows the most likely post impact velocity is near zero, then the trailer snags and drags the Cadillac forward.
Network Data (See Detailed Message Analysis)
These are large files as they represent complete logs of CAN traffic on the J1939 network.
Crash 1
Tractor data from Crash 1 with VBox messages injected into the data stream. The VBox documentation explains that the speed data is in knots.
Crash1-J1939Data-20320011.XLX is the raw file recorded by a Vector CANCase XL Log.
Crash1-J1939Data-20320011.csv is a text file that was produced by the Vector CANCase XL log configuration utility.
Crash1-J1939Data-120320011.xlsx is an Excel file that has the CAN data and the VBox 3i Data plotted for comparison.
Crash 1 DDEC Reports
After the crash, a DDEC Reports was extracted while the J1939 message traffic was recorded. The detailed analysis results are here: CAN Timing Results From Extracting DDEC Reports.
DDECReportsFromCrash1-J1939Data-20320012.XLS is the raw file recorded by a Vector CANCase XL Log.
DDECReportsFromCrash1-J1939Data-20320012.csv is a text file that was produced by the Vector CANCase XL log configuration utility that can be opened in Excel.
Crash 2 Network Recording
Crash2-J1939Data-20320011.XLXDDEC Reports
Before any dynamic tests were performed, the Detroit Diesel Reports were pulled using version 7.02 software. This is the baseline data that contained all prior activity. During the process, the trip data was reset because the Vehicle Registry in DDEC Reports was not correctly configured after a new installation.
A series of lane change manuevers and hard braking tests were performed. These added data to the DDEC Reports.
The Last Stop record reflects the dynamics from the crash. The spike corresponds to the crash as it has the same shape as the VBox 3i data.
The second crash had the truck stationary with all brakes off, the engine running, and the transmission out of gear. The Last Stop record shows the surge forward from the crash. The delta-V according to the DDEC Reports was 2.5 mph.
Detroit Diesel Diagnostic Link 7.08
Since the J1939 network was saturated with the VBox 3i CAN output channels, some low priority messages did not get through the network, which tripped fault codes. These codes are shown using the diagnostic software.
VC4000 Accelerometer Data
Crash 1: Both Vehicles Moving
Truck Acceleration
Run0001_AccelTruckTest1.csv is a text file to open in a spreadsheet.
Run0001_AccelTruckTest1.run is a data file that needs Profile software from Vericom Computers to open.
Below is a figure showing the filtered data from the x-direction of the 50g accelerometer sampled at 1000 Hz.
Cadillac Acceleration
Run0002_AccelCadillacTest1.csv is a text file to open in a spreadsheet.
Run0002_Accel.CaddilacTest1.run is a data file that needs Profile software from Vericom Computers to open.
Crash 2: Tractor-Trailer is Sationary
For this test the VC 4000 units were placed in the tractor-trailer combination. The unit that was mounted in the Cadillac for the first test was moved to the tractor to observe differences in acceleration between the trailer and the tractor.
Tractor Acceleration
Run0001_AccelTractorTest2.csv is a text file to open in a spreadsheet.
Run0001_AccelTractorTest2.run is a data file that needs Profile software from Vericom Computers to open.
Trailer Acceleration
Since the trailer accelerometer was mounted close to the impact location, the signal contains a significant amount of hight frequency content that shows itself as a more jagged signal compared to the tractor accelerometer.
Garmin GPS Units
Crash 1
The GPS unit below shows 31.8. mph for the maximum speed for the tractor.
The image below shows 58.6 mph as the speed of the Cadillac that is nearly double that of the tractor.
Crash 2
The GPS unit below shows 35.4 mph for maximum speed for Cadillac when the tractor-trailer was stationary.
Discussion and Analysis
To be continued...