Active Safety Research Articles

원청의 안전지원이 협력사업장 근로자의 안전행동수준에 미치는 영향

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 40% of fatal accidents due to industrial accidents between 2017 and 2021 were at partner workplaces, and 62.6% of all accidents (as of 2021) were preventable by following basic safety rules, such as falling, getting caught, or colliding. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of the prime companies’ safety support on the safety culture creation and safety behavior of workers in partner workplaces as a way to establish a safety culture in partner workplaces. This study was designed to examine the effect of safety support from prime companies on safety behavior level of workers at partner workplaces. It is a cross-sectional study using the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency’s 2021 Occupational Safety and Health data. The sample for the study is 739 manufacturing partner workplaces. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression analysis using SPSS (ver.21). According to this study, there were labor unions in 91 places and 13.9% in 94 places with departments dedicated to industrial safety and health, indicating that the establishment of an industrial safety and health system was generally insufficient. In addition, this study examined the effect of the prime companies' safety support on the safety culture of partner workplaces and the safety behavior of their workers. As a result of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, safety support from prime companies had a positive (+) effect on safety culture at partner workplaces. Leadership of management appear to have a partial mediating effect on safety support from prime companies and safety behavior level at partner workplaces. Safety communication and education·systems appear to have a mediating effect on safety support from prime companies and safety behavior level at partner workplaces. According to this study, active safety support from the prime companies can revitalize the safety culture of the partner workplaces, thereby improving the level of safety behavior of workers to prevent accidents. Since partner workplaces generally lack safety capabilities compared to the prime companies, they can spread the safety culture of partner workplaces through safety support from the prime companies, and it can be expected to be effective in preventing industrial accidents by controlling the unsafe behavior of workers by establishing a safety culture.

QUALIFICATION METHOD TO MODERNIZE STRATEGIES FOR SCHEDULED REPAIRS OF ACTIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS WITH WWER

The strategies for scheduled tests and repairs of active safety systems (with pumps) established by the Technological Regulations for the safe operation of NPPs with WWER do not take into account many years of operating experience and the results of numerous tests of active safety systems, current reliability indicators and the residual life of the main equipment and other factors. Modernization/improvement of design strategies for scheduled repairs and tests of active safety systems determines the need to develop appropriate methods for qualification (substantiation) of modernized strategies. There is presented a risk-informed method for qualifying modernizations of strategies for scheduled repairs of active safety systems, taking into account experience in operation, scheduled repairs and tests, as well as the current reliability of the main equipment. The developed method is based on the following provisions. The determining reliability indicator when qualifying strategies for scheduled repairs of active safety systems is the safety unavailability factor, which determines the probability of a critical failure at the current time depending on the critical failure rate established in scheduled tests/repairs over the expired operation life. A critical failure here means a failure to perform safety functions (for example, failure to turn on a pump, forced shutdown of a pump due to a violation of operability conditions, leaks in the circuits of active safety systems, etc.). The qualification criterion to modernize strategies for scheduled repairs of active safety systems is a risk function that determines the ratio of the safety unavailability factors of the design and modernized strategies for scheduled repairs of active safety systems. Condition for successful qualification is the safety unavailability factor of the modernized strategy for scheduled repairs is not greater than the safety unavailability factor of the design strategy for scheduled repairs. Based on the developed method, modernized strategies for scheduled repairs of active safety systems of the WWER-1000 reactor were substantiated and the conditions for the applicability of the modernized strategies were determined.

Electric Vehicles—An Overview of Current Issues—Part 2—Infrastructure and Road Safety

The electrification of road transport is developing dynamically around the world. Many automotive companies are introducing electric vehicles to the market, and their popularity is constantly growing. The increasing popularity of electric vehicles is caused by individual countries’ governments encouraging people to switch to electric vehicles and their lower operating costs. In 2022, the number of electric vehicles in China will exceed 10 million. Europe and the USA rank second and third in global electric car stock, respectively. The number of available electric vehicle models is constantly growing, remaining approximately 2.5 times smaller than the case of vehicles with an internal combustion engine. Among others, a significant limitation to the popularity of electric cars is users’ fear of range and the density of the charging infrastructure network. This paper presents the objectives regarding public areas and charging stations around the European Union’s comprehensive and core transport network. It is worth noting that the vehicle and charging point’s charging connectors vary depending on the geographical region. Therefore, the currently used charging connectors for different regions are presented. Charging time depends significantly on the charging current, the power of the charging point, and the devices installed in the vehicle. The paper analyzes the limitations of charging power resulting from the onboard charger’s power and the charging point’s power. It presents the charging time of selected electric vehicles. The second aspect that is also the subject of user concerns and discussed in this article is issues related to the safety of electric vehicles. General safety indicators of such vehicles based on Euro-NCAP tests are characterized. Attention was also paid to more detailed problems related to active and passive safety and functional safety analyses. The issue of the fire hazard of electric vehicles was discussed together with modern experiences regarding post-accident procedures in the event of fires.

Transparent Structures with a Fast De‐Stiffening Functionality

The majority of natural organisms interact with their environments with a degree of mechanical adaptability that allows them to carry out a variety of tasks and adapt to changing circumstances. Human‐made structures, however, lack this versatility and are normally designed to fulfill a certain load‐carrying requirement. This causes limitations in performance, efficiency, and safety. The aim of this article is to present rapid de‐stiffening in the response of conventional structures, without compromising the load‐bearing capacity. This has been achieved by developing an active interface using an interconnected nanostructured metallic network. A very fast heating rate with an average of ≈45 °C s−1 under 4.8 V excitation while retaining transparency of 67% is demonstrated. The embedded metallic network in a thermoplastic matrix has been deployed as an active interface, in a conventional transparent multilayered structure. Upon activation, it provides a rapid (i.e., 2 s after activation) mechanical de‐stiffening capability. The results from finite element modeling have been found to be in good agreements with those from experiments. The rapid reversible stiffness tuning demonstrated here can be implemented in variety of multilayered structures with a wide range of applications in robotics, morphing and deployable structures, active damping, and active impact safety systems.

A dynamics model for driving behavior based on coupling actuation of bounded rational cognition and diverse emotions

Precise comprehension about the impacts of drivers’ rational and perceptual characteristics on their behavioral decisions is crucial for the accurate prediction of driving behavior. In the previous research on driving behavior, drivers were regarded as homogeneous and absolutely rational individuals. To overcome this limitation, the coupling effects of bounded rational cognition and diverse emotions are considered, and a driving behavior model is proposed based on Dynamics Psychology. There are two parts in this research. In Study 1, the information entropy theory is applied to describe the vehicle cluster situation, and a method is established to quantify the cognitive uncertainty of the vehicle cluster situation for drivers in diverse emotions. In Study 2, with consideration of bounded rational and emotional cognition, the impacts of the vehicle cluster situation and drivers' features, which are their demands for the driving goals including safety, efficiency and comfort, emotional states, and cognitive characteristics, on driving behavior are uniformly expressed as the behavioral driving force, and a prediction model for driving behavior is proposed based on Dynamics Psychology. The results of validation based on the virtual driving data show the prediction accuracy of the proposed model for various driving behaviors of drivers in diverse emotions is over 80%. The results of verification based on NGSIM data suggest that the prediction accuracy of the proposed model for the natural driving behaviors is 82.07%. The research results can contribute to the study on the intrinsic mechanism of driving behavior and provide theoretical support for the development of traffic simulation, personalized active safety systems, human–machine interaction, and brain-inspired autonomous driving.

Analysis of Technical Condition of Cars in Western Poland: A Study Based on Selected Indicators

(1) Background: Ensuring road user safety relies on the optimal technical condition of cars, addressing both active and passive safety measures. In Poland, vehicle regulations, articulated in the Minister of Infrastructure’s decree of 31 December 2002, establish technical prerequisites and necessary equipment. For this purpose, the main question was: What is the current technical condition of cars on the road in Western Poland? (2) Methods: A total of 1067 vehicles were tested, reflecting a maximum error of 3% in a population of 20 million cars. Tests were conducted at the diagnostic station from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATISTICA software. (3) Results: Periodic technical tests yield insights into passenger car safety standards in western Poland. The application of formulated characteristics allows a comprehensive evaluation, providing valuable information on the overall safety condition of inspected vehicles. The vehicles in Poland have an average age exceeding 14 years, and their average mileage is 168,000 km. (4) Conclusions: The examination uncovered various technical defects and provided statistical interpretations, unequivocally demonstrating that these identified issues have the potential to impact traffic safety. Such studies act as a reference point for other researchers addressing the broader issue of road traffic.

Research on the Testing and Evaluation of Active Safety System for Turning Cars in Two wheeler Traffic Scenarios

China In-depth Traffic Accident Survey (CIDAS) shows that two wheeler has the highest accident fatality rate, more than 38%, which is far more than cars and pedestrians. In this paper, the characteristics of traffic accidents in China, the types of two wheeler, and traffic characteristics of two wheeler are taken into account. There are typical hazardous scenarios in the case of crossing, longitudinal, turning, mixed, etc. In the existing collision scenarios design of cars and two wheeler, the testing methods of crossing and longitudinal have been basically mature. Therefore, combining with the functional testing of the current automobile active safety system, to recurrent the traffic scenarios of two wheeler objectively, the active safety test and evaluation scenarios of turning cars under the two wheeler traffic scenarios are designed. Test paths, test speeds, and impact position are proposed. it complements the test scenarios for active safety function.

ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЕ УПРАВЛЯЕМОСТИ ТРАНСПОРТНО-ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ СПЕЦИАЛЬНОГО НАЗНАЧЕНИЯ МАШИН НА ШИНАХ СВЕРХНИЗКОГО ДАВЛЕНИЯ ПРИ ДВИЖЕНИИ ПО ДОРОГАМ ОБЩЕГО ПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ

The results of the analysis of changes in the controllability of vehicles when driving on ultra-low pressure tires on public roads are presented. The presence of a significant influence on the reaction of a wheeled vehicle of the frequency of the control action has been proved. Such an in-dicator of the change in controllability as the delay in the angular velocity of rotation of the wheeled vehicle from the control action is proposed. The results of mathematical modeling of the effect of the parameters of ultra-low pressure wheels on the directional controllability of all-terrain vehicles are obtained. The data provided made it possible to identify the safest tire stiffness parameters (and hence the amount of air pressure) the vehicle, affecting its active safety, as well as determine the limits of their permissible modification. It has been established that in the entire range of changes in the parameters of ultra-low pressure tires, the speed of all-terrain vehicles on public roads should not exceed 50 km/h.

Comparative Analysis of Controller Effect on Anti-lock Braking System Performance using MATLAB/ Simulink

Active safety features aim to avoid or reduce road accidents, in contrast to passive safety features, which are meant to protect occupants after a collision. An Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) is a category of active safety breaking that stops the wheels from locking during a braking action, keeping them in contact with the ground. Different researchers have proposed various control methods for developing the ABS controller. A controller is effective if it reduces stopping distance and time and maintains the desired slip ratio. In this research paper, a quarter-vehicle model is utilized to evaluate the effect of the controller on the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and study longitudinal braking dynamics. The Bang-bang controller, Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller and the Fuzzy Logic (FL) controller for the ABS were modelled in MATLAB/ Simulink software. A feedback controller that abruptly flips between the two states is called a bang-bang controller, also called an on-off, two-step, or hysteresis controller. PID (Proportional - Integral - Derivative) parameters were obtained using the Ziegler Nichols tuning Method. A comparative analysis of the controllers concerning braking distance, braking time, and normalized relative slip was performed. ABS with the Fuzzy Logic (FL) controller outperforms both the Proportional - Integral - Derivative (PID) and bang-bang controllers.

On the Relationship Between Impedances of Active Implantable Medical Devices and Device Safety Under MRI RF Emission

Impedances of different portions of active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) can influence its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radio-frequency (RF) safety dramatically. To better understand this behavior, in this article, we analytically derive relationships between the impedances of AIMDs and the MRI RF safety. Numerical simulations and measurements are performed to validate the proposed relationships. In addition, effective measurement setups for the AIMD impedances are proposed. The analysis in this article gives a clear design strategy for MR-conditional safe AIMDs.

A monitoring and early warning platform for energy storage systems based on big data analysis

This article focuses on the safe operation of lithium battery energy storage power stations and develops a data monitoring and safety warning platform for energy storage systems. The background, architecture, implementation methods, and main functions of the platform development are introduced in sequence. This platform significantly improves the safety of energy storage stations by implementing active safety monitoring and early warning, which is of great significance for the large-scale application and promotion of lithium battery energy storage stations.

Analysis of opportunities to increase the level of active car safety

Problem. Increasing the active safety of automobiles remains an important issue in modern automotive engineering. This study will investigate opportunities to increase the effectiveness and scope of automotive active safety measures. Current active safety measures, while effective, are limited in their ability to address the dynamic and multifaceted nature of hazards on the road. Factors such as human error, changing road conditions, and the emergence of new traffic patterns still pose significant risks. These challenges require a comprehensive analysis of opportunities to increase the effectiveness of active car safety. To address these challenges, novel technologies must be explored, industry collaboration must be encouraged, and adaptable standards must be established to integrate and enhance active safety features in vehicles. Thus, itis essential to identify and capitalize on opportunities for progress in active vehicle safety to reduce traffic crashes and promote safer transportation systems Goal. The overarching goal is to significantly improve the effectiveness and breadth of active safety measures for vehicles. This includes: enhanced protection, proactive risk reduction, technology integration, behavioral adaptation, and regulatory strengthening. Achieving these goals will require a multidisciplinary approach that combines technological innovation, behavioral science, regulatory adaptation, and industry collaboration to create a comprehensive and effective active vehicle safety ecosystem. Methodology. Analytical research methods are used, Researching and developing cutting-edge technologies. Originality. A detailed analysis was carried out and the principles of operation of systems and mechanisms included in active safety systems were presented. This analysis will allow to determine the advantages and disadvantages that should be paid attention to when studying these systems. Practical value. Enhanced active car safety offers a variety of benefits and has substantial value. Reduced accidents and fatalities: Reduced accidents and fatalities, advanced safety measures can significantly reduce the frequency and severity of accidents, leading to fewer injuries and fatalities on the road. Improved traffic flow, proactive safety systems reduce potential hazards and contribute to smoother traffic flow and less congestion caused by accidents. Technological innovation, advances in active safety can contribute to broader technological innovation and influence advances in areas other than automotive safety.

Real-time estimation of longitudinal tire stiffness considering dynamic characteristics of tire

To enhance the effectiveness of active safety control, the tire–road friction coefficient (TRFC) must be precisely estimated, and the longitudinal tire stiffness coefficient is an important vehicle dynamic parameter to estimate TRFC. In this research, we present an observer that improves the performance of longitudinal tire stiffness coefficient estimation by applying tire dynamics that were previously applied in the lateral direction to the longitudinal direction. To begin, we model longitudinal tire dynamics using the relaxation length concept and validate the model using vehicle braking tests. We develop an observer that estimates the longitudinal tire stiffness coefficient by integrating the proposed tire dynamics and vehicle dynamics. The observer, which is based on an extended Kalman filter, can be applied to nonlinear systems and successfully removes noise from wheel speed measurement. The observer’s estimation performance is verified using CarSim simulation and vehicle tests, and the results are compared to existing approaches that do not account for longitudinal tire dynamics. Even in the transient section when the vehicle begins accelerating, the difference between the estimate and the reference value is about 0.3% using the proposed method, but if tire dynamics are not taken into account, the estimate is 6.5% lower than the reference value.

Instrumentation and Control for Tritium-Compatible Hydrogen Generator

Hydrogen generators that use a proton exchange membrane (PEM) cell stack for water electrolysis have various applications, one of them being combined electrolysis catalytic exchange installations. This process separates a stream of tritiated water into detritiated water and a stream of tritium-enriched hydrogen. The stream of tritium-enriched hydrogen then can be used in tritium recovery processes. The development of hydrogen generators capable of processing tritiated water still arouses increased interest due to their low commercial availability. This paper presents the construction of a hydrogen generator compatible with tritium in a two-PEM cell stack configuration in terms of instrumentation and control as well as the active safety measures implemented.

Efficacy and safety of praziquantel treatment against Schistosoma mansoni infection among pre-school age children in southern Ethiopia

BackgroundPreventive chemotherapy with a single dose of praziquantel given to an all-at-risk population through mass drug administration is the cornerstone intervention to control and eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem. This intervention mainly targets school age children, and pre-school age children (pre-SAC) are excluded from receiving preventive chemotherapy, partly due to scarcity of data on praziquantel treatment outcomes.MethodsWe conducted active efficacy and safety surveillance of praziquantel treatment among 240 Schistosoma mansoni-infected pre-SAC who received a single dose of praziquantel (40 mg/kg) in southern Ethiopia. The study outcomes were egg reduction rates (ERR) and cure rates (CRs) four weeks after treatment using the Kato–Katz technique and treatment-associated adverse events (AEs) that occurred within 8 days post-treatment.ResultsThe overall ERR was 93.3% (WHO reference threshold ≥ 90%), while the CR was 85.2% (95% CI = 80.0–89.5%). Baseline S. mansoni infection intensity was significantly associated with CRs, 100% among light infected than moderate (83.4%) or heavy (29.4%) infected children. An increase of 100 in baseline S. mansoni egg count per gram of stool resulted in a 26% (95% CI: 17%, 34%) reduction in the odds of cure. The incidence of experiencing at least one type of AE was 23.1% (95% CI: 18.0%, 29.0%). Stomachache, diarrhea, and nausea were the most common AEs. AEs were mild-to-moderate grade and transient. Pre-treatment moderate (ARR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.69, 6.14) or heavy infection intensity (ARR = 6.5, 95% CI: 3.62, 11.52) was a significant predictor of AEs (p < 0.001). Sex, age, or soil-transmitted helminth coinfections were not significant predictors of CR or AEs.ConclusionsSingle-dose praziquantel is tolerable and effective against S. mansoni infection among pre-SAC, and associated AEs are mostly mild-to-moderate and transient. However, the reduced CR in heavily infected and AEs in one-fourth of S. mansoni-infected pre-SAC underscores the need for safety and efficacy monitoring, especially in moderate-to-high infection settings. Integrating pre-SACs in the national deworming programs is recommended to accelerate the elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem.

A hybrid deep learning framework for conflict prediction of diverse merge scenarios at roundabouts

The unique traffic situation at roundabouts causes complex interactions between merging vehicles, thereby increasing the likelihood of conflicts. Reliable prediction of conflict risk contributes to active safety improvement, but few studies have investigated the merge risk of roundabouts at a microscopic level. In light of this, this study develops a hybrid deep learning framework for predicting potential conflict risks in complex merging scenarios at roundabouts. Specifically, a roundabout coordinate system is devised to define vehicle characteristics based on trajectory data. Then, an improved 2D-TTC (time-to-collision) indicator is employed to identify two-dimensional merge conflicts. Since the surrounding vehicles may change as vehicles merge into a roundabout, this study analyzes several merging scenarios involving different vehicle groups and conflict durations in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the conflict mechanism. For these scenarios, a hybrid model consisting of a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a long short-term memory network (LSTM) integrated with the convolutional block attention module (CBAM) is utilized to identify key features. The superiority of the proposed prediction method is demonstrated in comparisons with benchmark models. Results showed that segmental predictions were more accurate than overall predictions in terms of conflict duration. Furthermore, it is possible that a specific vehicle group has a decisive effect on the merging conflict risk, as indicated by the fact that information from multiple vehicle groups does not significantly improve the prediction performance. Another finding is that the driving state of vehicles merging at the roundabout varies considerably, but rarely with consecutive or multiple changes. The study provides novel insights into roundabout conflict prediction, which could serve as a tool for enhancing safety management involving complex traffic scenarios.

Emergence and collapse of reciprocity in semiautomatic driving coordination experiments with humans

Forms of both simple and complex machine intelligence are increasingly acting within human groups in order to affect collective outcomes. Considering the nature of collective action problems, however, such involvement could paradoxically and unintentionally suppress existing beneficial social norms in humans, such as those involving cooperation. Here, we test theoretical predictions about such an effect using a unique cyber-physical lab experiment where online participants (N = 300 in 150 dyads) drive robotic vehicles remotely in a coordination game. We show that autobraking assistance increases human altruism, such as giving way to others, and that communication helps people to make mutual concessions. On the other hand, autosteering assistance completely inhibits the emergence of reciprocity between people in favor of self-interest maximization. The negative social repercussions persist even after the assistance system is deactivated. Furthermore, adding communication capabilities does not relieve this inhibition of reciprocity because people rarely communicate in the presence of autosteering assistance. Our findings suggest that active safety assistance (a form of simple AI support) can alter the dynamics of social coordination between people, including by affecting the trade-off between individual safety and social reciprocity. The difference between autobraking and autosteering assistance appears to relate to whether the assistive technology supports or replaces human agency in social coordination dilemmas. Humans have developed norms of reciprocity to address collective challenges, but such tacit understandings could break down in situations where machine intelligence is involved in human decision-making without having any normative commitments.

Fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control for distributed drive electric vehicles through integration of active front steering and direct yaw moment control

For the purpose of improving the lateral stability in the path following process for the distributed drive electric vehicles subject to multiple actuator/sensor faults, a new fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control method is proposed in this paper through the integration of the active front steering (AFS) and direct yaw-moment control (DYC). Firstly, considering the actuator/sensor faults and parameter uncertainties together, a Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model is established to describe the integrated AFS/DYC system with nonlinear dynamics. Secondly, because the fault information plays a key role in the fault tolerant control, a fuzzy estimation observer is presented to diagnose actuator/sensor faults online. Thirdly, considering the high cost of the measurement sensors for lateral speed, it is hard to measure the complete state of the vehicle. Thus, in the frame of dynamic output feedback structure, a fuzzy fault tolerant control method is proposed to improve the path following performance and guarantee the dynamic stability. Finally, the hardware-in-the-loop experimental results of two typical driving maneuvers show that the proposed control method has a superior performance in the improvement of the driving stability and active safety.

Active and passive safety systems of the automobile

This paper focuses on creating an overview of the current state of research (state of the art) on systems and equipment for active and passive safety of the vehicles. After classifying them, the limits are identified, as well as the technical solutions that are based on design technologies intended to increase the safety of vehicle occupants, pedestrians or other traffic participants in the event of an impact or in case of its prevention. Future approaches are presented at the end of the paper in terms of technical solutions of vehicles with Highly Automated Driving (HAD) technology, as well as how autonomous vehicles work.

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura and Guillain-Barré syndrome after 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination in Japan: The vaccine effectiveness, networking, and universal safety (VENUS) study

BackgroundTo address the lack of an active vaccine safety surveillance system in Japan, the Vaccine Effectiveness, Networking, and Universal Safety (VENUS) study was initiated in 2021 as a pilot system using existing health insurance claims data and vaccination records. MethodsThis study evaluated the value of the VENUS study by assessing the incidence of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following vaccination with the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) using a self-controlled case series (SCCS) design. ResultsIncidence rate ratios for ITP during 28-day and 42-day risk periods were 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12–6.4), and 0.58 (95% CI, 0.081–4.2), respectively. Neither was statistically significant. Incidence rate ratios could not be estimated for GBS due to the limited sample size. ConclusionThe VENUS study can provide valuable insights to facilitate the establishment of an advanced vaccine monitoring system in Japan.