PC-CRASH A Simulation Program for Vehicle Accidents Operating Manual Version 9.0 November 2010 Dr. Steffan Datentechnik Linz, Austria Distributed and Supported in North America by: www.pc-crash.com Contents CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND INSTALLATION ........................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 1 ABOUT THIS MANUAL .......................................................................................................................................... 1 THE PC-CRASH SOFTWARE PACKAGE ................................................................................................................. 2 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 2 USE OF MOUSE AND PRINTERS ........................................................................................................................... 2 INSTALLATION OF PC-CRASH .............................................................................................................................. 2 Licensing PC-Crash ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Check for Updates ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 DEMOVERSION ................................................................................................................................................... 8 PC-CRASH FEATURES ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Additional Features of PC-Crash 3D .......................................................................................................................... 11 New features of PC-Crash 9.0: ................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2 WORKING WITH PC-CRASH ..................................................................................................... 15 MENU OPTIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Customizing Toolbars and Menus .............................................................................................................................. 17 HOT KEYS ........................................................................................................................................................ 28 DEFAULT SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................................... 28 Units ........................................................................................................................................................................... 33 TYPICAL SIMULATION PROCEDURE .................................................................................................................... 34 Project Wizard ............................................................................................................................................................ 37 LOADING AND SAVING PROJECTS ...................................................................................................................... 37 Autosave .................................................................................................................................................................... 38 MAIN SCREEN DISPLAY ..................................................................................................................................... 38 Display Settings .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Vehicle Shape ............................................................................................................................................................ 38 Last Branch ................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Refreshing the Screen ................................................................................................................................................ 39 LOADING VEHICLES ........................................................................................................................................... 40 Vehicle Databases ...................................................................................................................................................... 40 Custom Vehicles ......................................................................................................................................................... 43 Vehicle Construction ................................................................................................................................................... 44 VEHICLE SETTINGS ........................................................................................................................................... 46 SAVING A VEHICLE ............................................................................................................................................ 46 DELETING OR REPLACING A VEHICLE ................................................................................................................. 47 ATTACHING 2D AND 3D SHAPES TO VEHICLES ................................................................................................... 47 SCENE DATA INPUT .......................................................................................................................................... 47 2D Scenes .................................................................................................................................................................. 47 3D Scenes .................................................................................................................................................................. 48 Scene Coefficient of Friction ....................................................................................................................................... 50 SCENE DISTANCES AND SCALING ...................................................................................................................... 52 Measuring Distances .................................................................................................................................................. 52 Grid ............................................................................................................................................................................. 52 Scale .......................................................................................................................................................................... 52 DEFINING INITIAL VEHICLE CONDITIONS ............................................................................................................. 52 Position and Velocity .................................................................................................................................................. 53 The Tow Truck Tool .................................................................................................................................................... 53 Positioning Vehicles on 3D Surfaces .......................................................................................................................... 53 Initial Yaw ................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Backing Up ................................................................................................................................................................. 55 MOTION SEQUENCES (F6) ................................................................................................................................ 55 Contents i COLLISION ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................ 57 Preparing for a Crash Simulation ................................................................................................................................ 57 Impact Position ........................................................................................................................................................... 59 Definition of a new Start Position ................................................................................................................................ 61 Crash Simulation ........................................................................................................................................................ 61 EES Values ................................................................................................................................................................ 65 Post-Impact Trajectories ............................................................................................................................................