ASABE Technical Library - Abstract

Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.
If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, view access and subscription options

Evaluation of ASAE Standard S547 for the Continuous Roll Testing on Front Driven Mowers

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  038005,  2003 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.15676)
Authors:   Robert S. Comer, Paul Ayers, Xinyan Wang, John B. Conger, Paul Troutt
Keywords:   ROPS, agricultural safety, protective structure, rollover, S547, Lateral Upset Test, Tip-over Protective Structures, TOPS

The Agricultural Industry has one of the highest fatality rates of any industry in America today. Much of this is due largely to the deaths that are caused by roll over accidents while on agricultural vehicles. The addition of ROPS (Roll Over Protective Structures) have aided these high fatality rates on full-size tractors, but currently not all large lawnmowers are equipped with these safety structures. With the recent development of the new ASAE standard S547, Tip-Over Protective Structures (TOPS) design and testing on mowers has now been addressed. The overall objectives of this project are to evaluate the new ASAE standard and specifically the lateral upset testing. This new standard calls for the evaluation of the roll behavior of a vehicle down a slope of 33 to 38 and length of at least 4 meters. If there is a non-continuous roll down the slope, the vehicles TOPS meet this standard. The TOPS performance can be evaluated with an actual upset test or computer modeling. This study evaluates the testing methods using data collected by conducting continuous roll testing and simulations on the test slope facility at the University of Tennessee.

(Download PDF)    (Export to EndNotes)