Passive Safety Measures Research Articles

Analysis of a Biopolymer Implementation in the Automotive Instrument Panel

Objective: The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of different materials for vehicle dashboards in mitigating knee injuries during accidents, with a focus on environmentally friendly options. Theoretical Framework: The research is based on the premise that modern vehicle design should not only prioritize safety standards but also integrate sustainable practices. This framework underscores the importance of utilizing materials that not only meet safety requirements but also minimize environmental impact throughout their lifecycle. Method: The study compares the performance of two materials, polypropylene and poly-lactic acid (PLA), in vehicle dashboards. Data is gathered through experimentation to assess each material's ability to absorb energy and reduce knee impact injuries, as well as their environmental sustainability. Results and Discussion: The findings indicate that PLA demonstrates superior performance compared to Polypropylene in mitigating knee injuries during collisions, while also being more environmentally friendly due to its biodegradability and renewable sourcing. Research Implications: This research contributes to the development of safer vehicle designs by identifying materials that better protect occupants from knee injuries, while also considering the environmental impact of vehicle production and disposal. Implementing materials like PLA could lead to reduced injury rates and improved vehicle safety standards, benefiting both manufacturers and consumers, and promoting sustainability in the automotive industry. Originality/Value: This study offers original insights into the potential of PLA as a superior material for vehicle dashboards in terms of both safety and ecological impact. By exploring alternative materials, such as biopolymers, the research adds value to the ongoing efforts to enhance passive safety measures in automobiles while considering environmental sustainability as a critical factor in material selection.

On using machine learning algorithms for motorcycle collision detection

Globally, motorcycles attract vast and varied users. However, since the rate of severe injury and fatality in motorcycle accidents far exceeds that of passenger car accidents, efforts have been directed towards increasing passive safety systems. Impact simulations show that the risk of severe injury or death in the event of a motorcycle-to-car impact can be greatly reduced if the motorcycle is equipped with passive safety measures such as airbags and seat belts. For the passive safety systems to be activated, a collision must be detected within milliseconds for a wide variety of impact configurations, but under no circumstances may it be falsely triggered. For the challenge of reliably detecting impending collisions, this paper presents an investigation towards the applicability of machine learning algorithms. First, a series of simulations of accidents and driving operation is introduced to collect data to train machine learning classification models. Their performance is henceforth assessed and compared via multiple representative and application-oriented criteria.

Impact performance of unconventional trigger holes

Abstract Crash boxes in vehicles are one of the passive safety measures that aim to reduce injury to passengers and damage to the vehicle during a collision. Their function is to absorb the mechanical energy resulting from a collision by deforming plastically. Considering human safety, not only the energy must be damped, but also the forces acting on the passengers must be controlled. This force control can be adjusted to some extent using trigger mechanisms. There is a wide variety of research on hole type triggers, but they concentrated on traditional shapes; unique or hybrid shapes have not been sufficiently tested. This study examined the effects of various hole profiles with equal areas on dynamic mechanical performances of Al 6063-T6 rectangular crash boxes. Four types of trigger shapes were formed: upward keyhole, downward keyhole, U-shaped, and S-shaped. The dynamic performance evaluation was carried out experimentally by testing five types of geometries, the fifth one being the geometry without any trigger. In addition, dynamic Finite element analyses were conducted and validated using the experimental data, with the aim of employing the Finite element models in future geometry improvement studies. The experimental results were interpreted with some common evaluation parameters: peak force, crash force efficiency, mean crash force, and total energy absorption. The downward keyhole profile generally gave the best results, while the lowest peak force was observed in the U-shaped profile.

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.

Design of a Flexible mechatronic system for mechanical impedance measurement of the wrist as one step towards robotic rehabilitation

Abstract Home rehabilitation is a great complement to inpatient rehabilitation, because it allows for more regular training, especially in rural areas, where the access to physiotherapists is limited. However, unsupervised training carries the risk of deviation from the prescribed protocol. An obvious solution is to introduce a technical means for rehabilitation and continuous monitoring of performance. This paper presents a robotic system for rehabilitation of three degrees of freedom of the wrist independently, implemented with only one actuator, optimizing the design and size of the system. The device provides measurements of joint torque-position dependence, allowing objective assessment of mechanical impedance and range of motion to evaluate the progress of rehabilitation. Derived from research on haptic devices, a measurement method was implemented to measure hand impedance in the high frequency range between 100 and 200 Hz using a combination of exciters and accelerometers in the handles. This allows continuous monitoring of gripping forces without the need for complex contact-based force sensors. In collaboration between the authors’ technical and medical universities, a set of two-level passive and active safety measures was implemented to ensure the safety of the system’s users. Therefore, the presented system shows the potential to evaluate the mechanical impedance of the wrist at both low and high frequencies and to monitor the progress during rehabilitation. In the next step, a baseline of wrist impedance will be measured in a target group of healthy volunteers in order to prepare for studies in motion-restricted subjects.

Holistic pedestrian safety assessment for average males and females.

An integrated assessment framework that enables holistic safety evaluations addressing vulnerable road users (VRU) is introduced and applied in the current study. The developed method enables consideration of both active and passive safety measures and distributions of real-world crash scenario parameters. The likelihood of a specific virtual testing scenario occurring in real life has been derived from accident databases scaled to European level. Based on pre-crash simulations, it is determined how likely it is that scenarios could be avoided by a specific Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system. For the unavoidable cases, probabilities for specific collision scenarios are determined, and the injury risk for these is determined, subsequently, from in-crash simulations with the VIVA+ Human Body Models combined with the created metamodel for an average male and female model. The integrated assessment framework was applied for the holistic assessment of car-related pedestrian protection using a generic car model to assess the safety benefits of a generic AEB system combined with current passive safety structures. In total, 61,914 virtual testing scenarios have been derived from the different car-pedestrian cases based on real-world crash scenario parameters. Considering the occurrence probability of the virtual testing scenarios, by implementing an AEB, a total crash risk reduction of 81.70% was achieved based on pre-crash simulations. It was shown that 50 in-crash simulations per load case are sufficient to create a metamodel for injury prediction. For the in-crash simulations with the generic vehicle, it was also shown that the injury risk can be reduced by implementing an AEB, as compared to the baseline scenarios. Moreover, as seen in the unavoidable cases, the injury risk for the average male and female is the same for brain injuries and femoral shaft fractures. The average male has a higher risk of skull fractures and fractures of more than three ribs compared to the average female. The average female has a higher risk of proximal femoral fractures than the average male. A novel methodology was developed which allows for movement away from the exclusive use of standard-load case assessments, thus helping to bridge the gap between active and passive safety evaluations.

Mechanism underlying the impact of perception time on detection and recognition distance: New insights into bicycle safety

Perception time (PT) is a major factor affecting a driver’s ability to detect and recognize a bicycle. Researchers have attempted to enhance the PT and gain insights into why drivers fail to see bicyclists before collisions despite looking, even when they are at a safe driving distance from the bicycle. Previous studies have focused on the detection distance and recognition distance of bicycles within 600 ms. PT is the main factor for avoiding collisions; however, it has been shown that a control bicycle as well as treated bicycles can be detected from greater distances. This study aims to evaluate the early detection and recognition of bicycles owing to the impact of conspicuity treatments, such as white stripes on a red background (WRED), a high-visibility jacket (HVJ), reflective tape (RT), and their combinations, to achieve longer detection and recognition distances under day/night conditions. The detection and recognition distances of WRED tire treatment were compared with those of an HVJ, RT, and their combinations, based on PTs of 250 and 600 ms. The same treatments were applied and compared at the required PT for the safe driving distance of a bicycle. The respondents provided their perceptions based on video surveillance data presented on a computer screen. The detection and recognition distance of WRED treatment combined with an HVJ was significantly greater under all conditions except twilight with car headlights and nighttime with car headlights for a PT of 600 ms. Furthermore, for this combination, the PT was significantly shorter under all conditions except nighttime with car headlights. The effects of gentle self-signaling of a bicycle via the combination of WRED treatment and an HVJ can reduce the PT for detecting a bicycle and increase the detection and recognition distance under all lighting conditions. Passive safety measures based on these results can support drivers, who might otherwise look but fail to see bicyclists in time. In summary, the combination of WRED treatment with an HVJ is strongly recommended to achieve cost-effective self-signaling of a bicycle.

Методика расчета риска получения травм при реконструкции дорожно-транспортных происшествий с участием пешеходов

At present, in road traffic examinations (RTE) carried out in the Russian Federation, there are no modern comprehensive studies, scientific and practical solutions and methods which would be dedicated to assessing the risk of obtaining injuries of varying severity by road traffic participants. In contrast to injury assessment in the development of passive safety measures, injury indices in practice are not used in RTE, which leads to a lack of categorical conclusions in a number of expert tasks. The purpose of this study is to define a methodological approach to the solution of specialized tasks of road traffic accident examination and expert prevention of road traffic accidents in general related to the assessment of the risk of pedestrian injury in a road traffic accident. The article presents the analysis results of road traffic accident examinations. The methodology for evaluating the risk of pedestrian injuries in primary and secondary injuries (when being hit by the vehicle and when falling on the roadway) is outlined. The ways of this methodology`s further use in the practice of road traffic accident examinations, as well as in the development of measures within the expert prevention of traffic accidents, are shown.

Tram to Pedestrian Collisions—Priorities and Potentials

To improve mobility in cities in line with environmental goals, in urban traffic, trams represent an increasingly important means of transport. Due to the close interaction with other road users, this makes collisions with trams fairly frequent. This study has investigated accidents between trams and vulnerable road users resulting in personal injury, aimed at identifying priorities for simulating collisions between trams and pedestrians to assess passive safety measures. Tram accident data collection established throughout Europe from multiple sources and with varying degree of details, have been combined and analysed. These analyses comprise risk assessments per km-driven and general tram accident partner and site type evaluations, with more detailed analyses on accident site distance to the closest tram stop and injured body regions, respectively. In total, 7,535 tram-pedestrian accident resulting in 8,802 pedestrian injuries, collected in the year 2000–2021, was analysed. Accident risk ranges from 0.934 accidents per number of tram (million) km-driven, for slight injuries to 0.063 for fatal injuries. Pedestrians represent a large proportion of tram accident collision partners, especially for severe and fatal accidents. In accidents between trams and pedestrians, 3% of reported injuries are fatal, 23% severe and 74% minor. Generally, low-speed accidents close to tram stops often leading to minor injuries were observed to be of significant importance (<20m to the GPS location of a stop). Analysis of accidents was done bases on gender of the pedestrian showing overall similar involvements in accident with slight difference for various age groups and sites. Regardless of injury severity, the most frequently injured body region in accidents involving a tram is the head. Likewise, injuries sustained to the thorax, especially for higher injury severities are of high relevance, followed by injuries to the lower extremities. Based on this study, recommendations for developing reasonable tram-pedestrian accident scenarios for virtual testing can be derived for further optimisation of pedestrian safety of trams.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Active and Passive Safety Measures in Preventing Ship-Bridge Collision.

The risk of ship–bridge collisions should be evaluated using advanced models to consider different anti-collision and bridge-protection measures. This study aimed to propose a method to evaluate the effectiveness of active and passive safety measures in preventing ship–bridge collision. A novel ship–bridge collision probability formulation taking into consideration different safety measures was proposed. The model was applied at Jintang Bridge in China where the surrounding vessel traffic is ultra-crowded. We calculated the collision probability between the bridge and passing traffic using automatic identification system (AIS) data, Monte Carlo simulation, and Bayesian networks. Results under four different safety measures (i.e., active measures, passive measures, both measures and none) were analyzed and compared. The analysis concluded that both active and passive safety measures are effective in reducing the ship–bridge collision probability. Active measures, if deployed properly, can provide protection at an equivalent level than passive measures against collision risks. However, passive measures, such as setting arresting cables, are necessary in cases where the response time of the active measures is long. The proposed method and the results obtained from the case study may be useful for robust and systematic effectiveness evaluation of safety measures in other cases worldwide.

Development and application of a vehicle safety rating score for public transport minibuses

Minibuses are widely used for public transport, particularly in developing countries, yet their safety levels are often poor. This study identified a simple set of active and passive safety measures and 566 minibuses in the United Arab Emirates were inspected. Most vehicles were without seat belts or head restraints and had inadequate seat attachment. Low rates of active and passive safety features were recorded. The safety rating system assigned weightings to each of the variables in the survey, based on an assessment of their approximate relative risk. Applied to the benchmarking sample, safety rating scores (out of 50) ranged from below 10 points for the least safe vehicles to around 40 points for the best. Many vehicles inspected scored below 20 points. The safety rating score provided a practical assessment of the safety of the UAE minibus vehicle fleet and could be adapted to other vehicle types. The study outcomes are helping to both justify a new minibus safety standard in the UAE aiming to significantly reduce death and serious injury among the many passengers using this service, as well as to begin the process of removing the least safe vehicles from the fleet.

Didactic Analysis Of Active-Passive Fire Safety Measures In Tejuosho Ultra Modern Market Complex, Yaba, Lagos

Fire outbreaks are a leading cause of loss of property and lives in the Nigerian market scene and its neighbouring areas. Although this menace of market fire outbreak has been a recurring index since the early 2000s up till now, a lot of marketplaces still do not have standard fire protection measures in place to prevent fire spread. Neither are they adequately equipped for efficient fire outbreak control. This study investigated the existing active and passive fire safety measures adopted in Tejuosho ultramodern market to create policy guidelines for effective fire safety management practices. This study was carried out in Tejuosho market, Yaba, Lagos because it is one of the most recent market developments where effective fire protection strategies were put in place. Primary data for this research was obtained employing observation and questionnaires. The study revealed that all the active fire protection measures put in place have been well maintained, regularly serviced, highly effective and supported by the passive measures. This study recommended didactic procedures and strategies accessible to the market users and traders whenever an emergency fire outbreak occurs.

Interior Design Approach As Part Of Passive Fire Safety Measures – Evaluation Of The Re-Used Historical Bandabuliya Building Evacuation System

Interior Design Approach As Part Of Passive Fire Safety Measures – Evaluation Of The Re-Used Historical Bandabuliya Building Evacuation System

Development of a tool to monitor static balance of construction workers for proactive fall safety management

Abstract The construction industry around the globe is afflicted with an exorbitant rate of fatal and non-fatal falls. To lower the propensity of the falls, researchers and safety experts have recommended to supplement the traditional passive fall safety measures with some active measures (such as early identification of task/environmental hazards and personal risk factors). Unfortunately, at present, there is no readily available onsite tool which could identify workers with poor postural controls. This study aimed to develop a static balance monitoring tool for proactive tracking of construction workers on-site using a wearable inertial measurement unit (WIMU) and a smartphone. To this end, a three-phase project was conducted. Firstly, a validation study was conducted to examine the validity of using WIMUs to detect task/fatigue-induced changes in static balance during a 20-second static balance test. The results of the study revealed that WIMUs could detect the post-task subtle changes in static balance with reference to the findings of a force-plate (considered as industrial standard). Secondly, since there were no existing static balance classification methods, five experts were engaged to establish balance classification thresholds using the fuzzy set theory. Thirdly, a mobile phone application was developed for the managers/foremen for onsite balance monitoring of the construction workers using the 20-second test at different times of the day and establishing their corresponding balance performance profiles. This would assist early identification of fall prone workers, plan mitigation schemes before a fall accident happens and ultimately help reduce falls in the construction industry.

The role of the medico-legal expert in the interpretation of airbag and seatbelt injuries: two case reports

Introduction Road traffic trauma is a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe. A wide array of automotive safety measures have been implemented over several decades. They provide with active safety and passive safety. Seatbelts and supplementary restraint systems (SRS airbags) have undoubtedly been recognized as two important passive safety measures for vehicle occupants though they themselves may occasionally cause significant injuries in severe crashes. Injuries caused by inbuilt safety devices upon the occupants often come in atypical forms whose interpretation would be dubious unless carefully appreciated by forensic medical practitioner. This fact is elaborated with the following two case examples. Case reports The first case is regarding superficial burns on the face as a result of the deployment of airbags. The exact type, mechanism and the cause of the injuries were not recognized during the initial management. The second case is a diaphragmatic rupture which is extremely rare in healthy individuals with properly fastened seatbelts. Conclusions Injuries of both cases were properly interpreted at the clinical forensic examination. As correctly expected from a clinician he or she very justly pays more attention on the acute management, critical care and therapeutic aspects of such injuries rather than attempting to identify the exact type, mechanism of causation and other medico-legally significant issues. Yet, in the big picture outside the boundaries of providing critical care, including the implementation of preventive measures, precise identification and interpretation of such injuries become the vital obligation of the forensic medical expert.

Thoracic side airbags and structural performance in vehicle–vehicle lateral impacts

ABSTRACTOver the last few decadesthe longitudinal and lateral stiffness of the vehicle fleet has increased and a greater presence of passive safety measures have been integrated. The analysis reviews a series of real world vehicle-vehicle lateral collisions from NASS-CDS to identify any shifts in crashworthiness. The study attempts to isolate an effectiveness estimation for the deployed thoracic side airbag (tSAB) in preventing thoracic injury and secondly identify if newer struck vehicles are more resistant to intrusion than older vehicles. To assess the proposed hypotheses, similar severity collisions are paired to one another and traditional statistic tests can be applied. The results indicated that, the rate of rate of injury between the occupants in vehicles with the deployed tSAB did not differ to those unexposed to the tSAB. Results attaining to the second hypothesis demonstrated that newer vehicles are more resistant to lateral intrusion than older vehicles, mostly evident with an impact velocity of 40–60 km/h.

Which Fire to Extinguish First? A Risk-Informed Approach to Emergency Response in Oil Terminals.

The performance of fire protection measures plays a key role in the prevention and mitigation of fire escalation (fire domino effect) in process plants. In addition to passive and active safety measures, the intervention of firefighting teams can have a great impact on fire propagation. In the present study, we have demonstrated an application of dynamic Bayesian network to modeling and safety assessment of fire domino effect in oil terminals while considering the effect of safety measures in place. The results of the developed dynamic Bayesian network-prior and posterior probabilities-have been combined with information theory, in the form of mutual information, to identify optimal firefighting strategies, especially when the number of fire trucks is not sufficient to handle all the vessels in danger.

Economy, safety and applicability of small modular reactors

Small modular reactors are a new generation of low-energy-output, low-hazard, compact and modular nuclear reactors, with an output of <300 MWe per unit. With the integration of inherent and passive safety measures, off-site construction and higher fuel burn-up rates, they promise a safer, lower-waste and reduced-risk venture, with earlier investment returns for investors compared with large-scale nuclear power plants. Moreover, non-proliferation is enhanced through the use of small quantities of non-weapons-grade nuclear fuel or the introduction of alternative potential fuels, such as thorium or fuel waste and actinides. This paper reviews the state of the art and discusses the economic feasibility of small modular reactors, with a focus on levelised cost of electricity, economy of scale and limitations for a country wishing to embark on nuclear energy through their deployment. Concerns regarding the integration of small modular reactors into the existing electrical grids of countries with various or no levels of nuclear-power production capability are also discussed. Suggestions on alternatively calculating the cost of small modular reactors and the legislation route are also provided, along with the pros and cons of the economics and safety of small modular reactor deployment in a country new to nuclear power.

OPTIMUM RELIABILITY OF A STEEL TAPERED PORTAL FRAME STRUCTURE EXPOSED TO FIRE

In this study, the optimum reliability of a tapered steel portal frame structure is presented for several cases. The aim of the research is to define target reliability indices for fire design situation since some research works (Balogh and Vigh, 2015a; 2015b) pointed that the achievable reliability (with using the prescriptive rules of Eurocode standards) is lower in extreme and seismic design situations than the suggested target value in (EN0, 2002). It seems that the target reliability indices of (JCSS, 2000) are preferable in these cases. In this paper, the optimum reliability is investigated as described in (Holickỳ, 2011), but total cost function is formulated with two decisive variables with respect to the amount of active and passive safety measures. The structural reliability is obtained with the help of a complex FORM (First Order Reliability Method) algorithm. The results of this investigation can help also to answer the question, whether active or passive safety measures are more effective tools to achieve optimal solutions in case of fire design of steel portal frames.

A Framework for Selecting Design Fires in Performance Based Fire Safety Engineering

In fire safety engineering, the concepts of design fire scenarios and design fires are important for several reasons. In the design phases of a construction project the performance of safety measures, and the potential consequences of a fire, must be assessed by exploring design fire scenarios and design fires. Active and passive fire safety measures are dimensioned by exposing the systems to predetermined fire events. A predetermined fire event can also be used to extract fire-related quantities, such as smoke production rates, temperatures, and heat fluxes. Therefore fire events, which form the basis of these analyses, must be established. In this paper we report results from our investigation of current approaches used to determine design fires and their associated input variables. We present a framework to categorize design fires based on various engineering principles, in which fuel properties and environmental factors are emphasized. The framework provides a more consistent methodology than seen elsewhere, taking the perspective of the practicing engineer into account. Furthermore the creation of design fires encompasses considerations of uncertainty and validity.