First Latin American Laboratory for Virtual Structural Tests in Transport Buses: Innovation and Accreditation

Abstract

Traffic accidents cause more than 5000 fatalities per year in Ecuador. And when talking about public transport, bus overturns cause concern with no less alarming figures, and that are increasing. Given this perspective, it is necessary for buses to be tested and to ensure that they protect the integrity of people before they go out. Does this involve destroying buses and injuring people to prove they are safe? No way. Thanks to the technology incursion of the fourth industrial revolution, it is possible to model, simulate, optimize and have a better understanding of what happens during an impact or rollover. The Finite Element Method is used to execute rollover tests, but a well-planned and implemented systematization is necessary for the method to be applied properly. The main innovation is the use of an appropriately applied technology, which manages to verify the safety of buses that circulate in Ecuador and Latin America, avoiding destroying buses, saving raw materials of already built buses, not wasting hours / man. Save lives.