Enter the mass of the vehicle, the initial velocity, final velocity, and time into the calculator to determine the bump load/force exerted on the car by a bump.

Bump Load Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the load on a car exerted by a bump.

BL = m1*(V1-V2) / t
  • Where BL is the bump load (N)
  • m1 is the mass of the vehicle (kg)
  • V1 is the initial velocity of the vehicle (m/s)
  • V2 is the final velocity of the vehicle after hitting the bump (m/s)
  • t is the total time the vehicle was in contact with the bump.

A bump load is calculated using the change in momentum of the car divided by the time the car was in contact with the bump.

What is a Bump Load?

Definition:

A bump load is the total force exerted on a car as it travels over a speed bump.

How to Calculate Bump Load?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines the steps and information needed to calculate a Bump Load.

First, determine the mass of the vehicle. In this example, the vehicle weights 1500 kg.

Next, determine the speed of the car before hitting the bump. This is measured to be 60mph = 26.8224 m/s.

Next, determine the speed of the car after the bump. This is measure to be 20 m/s.

Next, determine the total time the car was in contact with the bump. In this case, we will use a total time of 1 second.

Finally, calculate the total bump load/force using the formula above:

BL = m1*(V1-V2) / t

BL = 1500*(26.8224-20) / 1

BL = 10,233.6 N