Rollover protection
A rollover protection (Roll Over Protective Structure, shortly ROPS ) is a protection structure for cabs of construction . It consists of additional, stiffening frame and lattice elements that are built into the construction of the driver's cab. In the event of a special event, such as overturning or rollover, the design prevents excessive deformation of the driver's cab. The construction equipment operator is protected from injuries, as the survival space (so-called deflection-limiting volume , or DLV for short) is secured.
This protective structure is used in construction equipment that is mainly used in earthworks and where the risk of a "special event" is particularly high. In addition to conventional earth moving equipment (stationary, mobile and flat excavators), compactors , road rollers and gravity trucks also have this type of roll-over protection. One possibility to expand the protective structure is to add a FOPS protective structure. In this case, the driver's cab is also protected from falling objects.
Before such a protective structure is approved, a prototype is used to determine its suitability. For this purpose, a hydraulic cylinder is used to apply a force that is dependent on the permissible total weight of the machine with a quasi-static increase in load. The whole thing happens in a lateral (sideways), vertical and longitudinal (longitudinal) direction. If the ROPS protective structure achieves the required forces and the required deformation energy, the prototype can be approved. Furthermore, no component of the ROPS protective device may penetrate the DLV defined in accordance with DIN EN 3164.
Norms and standards
- EN 23164 - Earth-moving machines - Roll-over protective structures and protective structures against falling objects
- ISO 3471 Earth-moving machinery - ROPS, tests and requirements
- DIN EN 13510 - Earth-moving machines - Roll-over protection structures, tests and requirements
literature
- Günter Kunze: Construction machinery . Vieweg + Teubner Verlag, Wiesbaden 2002, ISBN 3-528-06628-8 , pp. 147 f .
- Daniel-Jan Schendel: Deformation simulation for protective structures on mobile machines . Ed .: VDMA. Dresden April 2007, p. 149 (Final report of the Research Association for Construction and Building Material Machines e.V. (FVB)).