Failure Modes of General Motors C/K Light Truck Outboard Frame, Side-Mounted Fuel Containment System. Tempe, Arizona, March 24, 1994. Arndt, Mark W., Arndt & Associates, Ltd.

This document will report the crash-induced failure modes and potential failure modes of the General Motors C/K truck fuel containment systems which are predictable, and in most cases observable, in both experimental and real-world crashes. To identify the failure modes discussed in this report, the following principle of crashworthy fuel containment design is used; Design a fuel containment system which is incapable of developing deformations producing strains which exceed or closely approach the system’s fracture limit in survivable crashes.

Effects of Outrigger Design on Vehicle Dynamics. Concepts in Vehicle Dynamics and Simulation, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., Paper no. 940226, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, February 1994.

Outriggers are devices that arrest vehicle rollover during handling test maneuvers to protect the test vehicle and/or test driver. Validity of data in these tests has been questioned because the effect outriggers have on vehicle dynamics is not well understood. This research quantifies changes in handling characteristics with outriggers attached to a test vehicle. Three outrigger systems of different masses were developed and tested through various limit and sub-limit handling maneuvers. Analysis of the data generated during testing indicates improvements necessary for future outrigger designs leading to better understanding of vehicle dynamics and potentially reduced injuries from rollovers.