Risk of Overturning
Introduction
AD-ROPS is the acronym for Automatic Deployable Roll Over Protection Structure, or in Spanish, Automatic Roll Over Protection System. It is a specific type of ROPS, in which its main characteristic is that under normal conditions, it can be found in a rest (or folded) position, and in case of risk of overturning, it is deployed to its operational position in a time shorter than that of the vehicle overturning.
Its main purpose is to protect the driver of leisure and work vehicles, as well as agricultural vehicles and machinery, public works machinery, work machinery in meadows, or similar, in which there is a risk of the vehicle overturning, and which must have a ROPS, but which, due to the small size or due to various inconveniences in which it is continuously deployed, is usually dismantled or permanently in a folded situation (for example, its height makes it difficult to pass under trees, or the entry and exit of ships).
That is why there is currently great concern to develop a reliable AD-ROPS system, which allows both small vehicles (less than 400 kg) and those in which the vehicle has to pass under different obstacles, so that the ROPS system does not hinder its use, but nevertheless, when the rollover occurs, the system is deployed in such a way as to prevent or reduce the damage and injuries derived from it.
History
In 2000, the Safety Research Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the United States began to develop the first AD-ROPS structure, which they called NIOSH AutoROPS[1], which consisted of a movable structure, which was pressurized by springs held by a bolt and in the event of a rollover, a pyrotechnic device released these bolts, so it deployed automatically.
In 2005, at the University of Ankara, a system called "Anchor System" began to be designed in which there are two movable bars located in the upper part of a ROPS, in such a way that in case of risk of overturning, the width of the ROPS is increased and thus the possibility of overturning is minimized.
In 2008, in Italy, the company Costruzioni Mecchaniche D'Eusanio also developed a hydraulic system[2] for lifting the ROPS
In 2013, in Spain, the Air-Rops system is being developed, based on a system with inflators, with a deployment speed of less than 200 ms and which deploys in two directions, also expanding the safety zone.