Vehicle Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Methods, Second Edition
AUTHOR(S): Raymond M. Brach, Matthew Brach
Designed for the experienced practitioner, this new book aims to help reconstruction specialists with problems they may encounter in everyday analysis. The authors demonstrate how to take the physics behind accidents out of the idealized world and into practical situations. Real-world examples are used to illustrate the methods, clarify important concepts, and provide practical applications to those working in the field.
Thoroughly revised, this new edition builds on the original exploration of accident analysis, reconstruction, and vehicle design. Enhanced with new material and improved chapters on key topics, an expanded glossary of automotive terms, and a bibliography at the end of the book providing further reading suggestions make this an essential resource reference for engineers involved in litigation, forensic investigation, automotive safety, and crash reconstruction. Police officers, attorneys, and insurance professionals will also find the book to be a definitive resource in reconstructing accident scenes.
New Topics:
Event data recorders (EDRs)
Frictional drag coefficients for sliding tires
Railroad grade-crossing collisions
New practical applications of mathematical methods
Raymond M. Brach, PhD, PE, is a consultant in the field of accident reconstruction and a professor emeritus of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame. He is a fellow member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International. Other professional memberships include the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), The Acoustical Society of America (ASA), The Institution of Noise Control Engineers (INCE), and the National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists (NAPARS). He was granted a PhD in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. His specialized areas of teaching and research include mechanical design, mechanics, vibrations, acoustics, applications of statistics and quality control, vehicle dynamics, accident reconstruction, and microparticle dynamics. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Indiana. In addition to more than 100 research papers and numerous invited lectures, he has authored Mechanical Impact Dynamics published by Wiley Interscience in 1991 and is a coauthor of Uncertainty Analysis for Forensic Science, Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company, 2004.
R. Matthew Brach, PhD, PE, is an engineering consultant with the firm Brach Engineering, LLC. His principal areas of professional activities include vehicle impact analysis, vehicle dynamics, and automotive accident reconstruction. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, East Lansing (1995), an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago (1986), and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame (1982). He served as an adjunct professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan from 1994 to 2000. He is a member of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists (NAPARS). He is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Indiana and Michigan. He is the author of technical papers covering a range of topics that includes nonlinear vibrations, automotive engine mount design, vehicular accident analysis methodologies, and tire forces.
