scholarly journals Collision Scenarios for Assessing Crashworthiness of Passenger Rail Equipment

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Jacobsen ◽  
Patricia Llana ◽  
David Tyrell
Keyword(s):  
Task Force ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Impact Speed ◽  
Passenger Train ◽  
Alternative Design ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Railroad System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tier I

In June 2009, at the request of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee established the Engineering Task Force (ETF). The ETF is comprised of government, railroads, suppliers, and labor organizations and their consultants. The ETF was tasked with recommending a process for assessing alternative Tier I passenger rail equipment, i.e., passenger equipment that is operated at speeds up to 125 mph on the general railroad system. The final product of the ETF is a document outlining criteria and procedures for demonstrating crashworthiness performance of passenger rail equipment built to alternative design standards and proposed for operation in the US. The results provide a means of assessing whether an alternative design compares to designs compliant with the FRA’s Tier I crashworthiness requirements. This paper focuses on the criteria and procedures developed for scenario-based requirements. The principle collision scenario describes the minimum train-level crashworthiness performance required in a train-to-train collision of an alternatively designed passenger train with a conventional locomotive-led passenger train. For cab car-led and MU locomotive-led operations, the impact speed is prescribed at 20 mph. For locomotive led operations, the impact speed is prescribed at 25 mph. Criteria for evaluating this scenario include intrusion limits for the passengers and engineer, and occupant protection measures. Other scenario-based requirements discussed in this paper include colliding equipment override, connected equipment override, and truck attachment.

scholarly journals Criteria and Procedures for Assessing Occupied Volume Integrity

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Carolan ◽  
A. Benjamin Perlman ◽  
David C. Tyrell
Keyword(s):  
Task Force ◽  
Permanent Deformation ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Load Path ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Rail Industry

With the potential for tremendous growth in the passenger rail industry, providing for the safety of the train-riding public and the crews who transport them becomes an ever-greater priority. To provide for safety while making best use of its resources and to facilitate passenger rail industry growth, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in consultation with the rail industry, has developed alternative Criteria and Procedures for assessing the crashworthiness and occupant protection measures of rail passenger equipment. These Criteria and Procedures are intended to be applicable to a wide range of equipment designs, particularly equipment designs not complying with current U.S. standards and regulations. Because the latest technology in rail equipment crashworthiness has been used to develop the Criteria and Procedures, aspects of the resulting Criteria and Procedures are fundamentally different from their corresponding regulations. While technical results from sophisticated analyses and tests have been necessary, judgment was also needed to develop the Criteria and Procedures. This judgment was provided by the Engineering Task Force (ETF), and ultimately accepted by FRA. The ETF is a government/industry working group, organized under the auspices of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC). The Criteria and Procedures are intended to provide an engineering-based methodology for comparing the crashworthiness of alternatively-designed equipment with that of compliant designs. One particularly important aspect of passenger car crashworthiness is occupied volume integrity (OVI). It is essential that all passenger vehicles meet some base minimum level of OVI. A primary goal of crashworthiness is to maintain a volume for occupants to ride out a collision. In the U.S., this base level has been demonstrated through a vehicle’s ability to react a quasi-static load of 800,000 pounds along its line of draft without experiencing permanent deformation. This car-level requirement has existed, in some form, since the early 20th century. However, alternatively-designed vehicles may not be able to demonstrate the ability to support this load, but may still prove to be equivalently crashworthy. Based on analyses performed on conventional and alternatively-designed passenger equipment, three options have been developed to demonstrate the OVI of alternatively-designed equipment. These options consist of three load magnitudes placed along the collision load path with a corresponding pass/fail criterion for each load. OVI may be demonstrated by sustaining an 800,000 pound load with no permanent deformation, a 1,000,000 pound load with limited permanent deformation, or a 1,200,000 pound load without exceeding the crippling load of the occupied volume. This paper discusses the pass/fail criteria associated with each option, the analysis and test procedures used in applying each option, and the technical basis used in developing the Criteria and Procedures for OVI evaluation. By applying such techniques, the results of evaluations of alternatively-designed equipment can be compared with the Criteria values for compliant designs. In this manner, the crashworthiness performance of alternatively-designed equipment can be assessed relative to the performance of compliant designs. A companion paper to this one discusses the development of the train-level Criteria and Procedures.

Asteroid and Comet Impact Speeds upon Mars: Significance for Panspermia and the Supply of Organics

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 197-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Steel
Keyword(s):  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Regions Of Interest ◽  
Significant Fraction ◽  
Organic Chemicals ◽  
Impact Speed ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWhilst lithopanspermia depends upon massive impacts occurring at a speed above some limit, the intact delivery of organic chemicals or other volatiles to a planet requires the impact speed to be below some other limit such that a significant fraction of that material escapes destruction. Thus the two opposite ends of the impact speed distributions are the regions of interest in the bioastronomical context, whereas much modelling work on impacts delivers, or makes use of, only the mean speed. Here the probability distributions of impact speeds upon Mars are calculated for (i) the orbital distribution of known asteroids; and (ii) the expected distribution of near-parabolic cometary orbits. It is found that cometary impacts are far more likely to eject rocks from Mars (over 99 percent of the cometary impacts are at speeds above 20 km/sec, but at most 5 percent of the asteroidal impacts); paradoxically, the objects impacting at speeds low enough to make organic/volatile survival possible (the asteroids) are those which are depleted in such species.

The end of the laboratory developed test as we know it? Recommendations from a national multidisciplinary taskforce of laboratory specialists on the interpretation of the IVDR and its complications

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. D. Bank ◽  
Leo H. J. Jacobs ◽  
Sjoerd A. A. van den Berg ◽  
Hanneke W. M. van Deutekom ◽  
Dörte Hamann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Large Impact ◽  
Guidance Document ◽  
Scientific Societies ◽  
Clinical Laboratories ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe in vitro diagnostic medical devices regulation (IVDR) will take effect in May 2022. This regulation has a large impact on both the manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVD) and clinical laboratories. For clinical laboratories, the IVDR poses restrictions on the use of laboratory developed tests (LDTs). To provide a uniform interpretation of the IVDR for colleagues in clinical practice, the IVDR Task Force was created by the scientific societies of laboratory specialties in the Netherlands. A guidance document with explanations and interpretations of relevant passages of the IVDR was drafted to help laboratories prepare for the impact of this new legislation. Feedback from interested parties and stakeholders was collected and used to further improve the document. Here we would like to present our approach to our European colleagues and inform them about the impact of the IVDR and, importantly we would like to present potentially useful approaches to fulfill the requirements of the IVDR for LDTs.

The RUMA Alliance targets: an overview

Livestock ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 176-179
Author(s):  
Chris Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Task Force ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Codes Of Practice ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Ongoing Support ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Roll Out

The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) was established to promote the highest standards of food safety, animal health and animal welfare in the British livestock industry. It has a current focus to deliver on the Government objective of identifying sector-specific targets for the reduction, refinement or replacement of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The creation and roll out of sector specific targets in 2017 through the RUMA Targets Task Force, has helped focus activity across the UK livestock sectors to achieve a 50% reduction in antibiotic use since 2014. This has been realised principally through voluntary multi-sector collaboration, cross sector initiatives, codes of practice, industry body support and farm assurance schemes. This article provides an overview of RUMA's work to date providing insight into the methods used to create the targets, why they are so important, the impact they are having and how ongoing support and robust data are vital components in achieving the latest set of targets.

European Respiratory Society Statement on Sleep Apnoea, Sleepiness and Driving Risk

2020 ◽  
pp. 2001272
Author(s):  
Maria R Bonsignore ◽  
Winfried Randerath ◽  
Sofia Schiza ◽  
Johan Verbraecken ◽  
Mark W Elliott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Sleep Apnoea ◽  
Accident Risk ◽  
European Respiratory Society ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Patients At Risk ◽  
The Impact

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is highly prevalent and is a recognised risk factor for motor vehicle accidents (MVA). Effective treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been associated with a normalisation of this increased accident risk. Thus, many jurisdictions have introduced regulations restricting the ability of OSA patients from driving until effectively treated. However, uncertainty prevails regarding the relative importance of OSA severity determined by the apnoea-hypopnoea frequency per hour and the degree of sleepiness in determining accident risk. Furthermore, the identification of subjects at risk for OSA and/or accident risk remains elusive. The introduction of official European regulations regarding fitness to drive prompted the European Respiratory Society to establish a Task Force to address the topic of sleep apnoea, sleepiness and driving with a view to providing an overview to clinicians involved in treating patients with the disorder. The present report evaluates the epidemiology of MVA in patients with OSA, the mechanisms involved in this association, the role of screening questionnaires, driving simulators and other techniques to evaluate sleepiness and/or impaired vigilance, the impact of treatment on MVA risk in affected drivers, and highlights the evidence gaps regarding the identification of OSA patients at risk for MVA.

scholarly journals A smart passive MR damper with a hybrid powering system for impact mitigation: An experimental study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1045389X2098808
Author(s):  
S. Jin ◽  
L. Deng ◽  
J. Yang ◽  
S. Sun ◽  
D. Ning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Velocity ◽  
Mr Damper ◽  
Damping Force ◽  
Softening Effect ◽  
Impact Speed ◽  
Impact Mitigation ◽  
Passive Damper ◽  
Comparison Results ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents a smart passive MR damper with fast-responsive characteristics for impact mitigation. The hybrid powering system of the MR damper, composed of batteries and self-powering component, enables the damping of the MR damper to be negatively proportional to the impact velocity, which is called rate-dependent softening effect. This effect can keep the damping force as the maximum allowable constant force under different impact speed and thus improve the efficiency of the shock energy mitigation. The structure, prototype and working principle of the new MR damper are presented firstly. Then a vibration platform was used to characterize the dynamic property and the self-powering capability of the new MR damper. The impact mitigation performance of the new MR damper was evaluated using a drop hammer and compared with a passive damper. The comparison results demonstrate that the damping force generated by the new MR damper can be constant over a large range of impact velocity while the passive damper cannot. The special characteristics of the new MR damper can improve its energy dissipation efficiency over a wide range of impact speed and keep occupants and mechanical structures safe.

Do regulations protect workers from occupational exposures to carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) agents in France?

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 389-397
Author(s):  
Nathalie Havet ◽  
Alexis Penot ◽  
Morgane Plantier ◽  
Barbara Charbotel ◽  
Magali Morelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Occupational Exposures ◽  
International Agency ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Limit Value ◽  
Logistic Regressions ◽  
The Impact

ObjectiveThis article explores the impact of regulations on the implementation of collective protections in France to occupational exposure to carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) agents.MethodsIndividual data from the French national cross-sectional survey of occupational hazards conducted in 2010 were analysed. We investigated whether stricter regulations and longer exposures were associated with higher level of collective protection using multivariate logistic regressions.ResultsGeneral ventilation, for which effect is limited as collective protection for CMR products, was present in 19% of situations involving CMR agents while isolation chambers, the most effective form of protection, were only very rarely implemented. Multilevel logistic regressions show that exposure situations to products classified as category 1 or 2 by the European Union do not have a higher probability of benefiting from a collective protection measures. Exposures to products with a Binding Occupational Exposure Limit Value selectively benefited from a better level of protection. Exposures to agents entered on the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) list of proven or probable carcinogens benefited more from effective collective protections than products suspected to be carcinogens but not yet classified by IARC.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the dissemination of evaluations of carcinogens by the IARC translate into improved protective measures even though the IARC classification has no mandatory impact on regulations.

Design Range of Indoor Relative Humidity in Radiant Cooling Environment

2011 ◽  
Vol 243-249 ◽  
pp. 4905-4908
Author(s):  
Xue Min Sui ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Guang Hui Han
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Mean Radiant Temperature ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
Radiant Cooling ◽  
Climate Parameter ◽  
Radiant Temperature ◽  
Thermal Comfort Model ◽  
The Impact

Relative humidity is an important micro-climate parameter in radiant cooling environment. Based on the human thermal comfort model, this paper studied the effect on PMV index of relative humidity, and studied the relationship of low mean radiant temperature and relative humidity, drew the appropriate design range of indoor relative humidity for radiant cooling systems.The results show that high relative humidity can compensate for the impact on thermal comfort of low mean radiant temperature, on the premise of achieving the same thermal comfort requirements. However, because of the limited compensation range of relative humidity, together with the constraints for it due to anti-condensation of radiant terminal devices, the design range of relative humidity should not be improved, and it can still use the traditional air-conditioning design standards.

FATCA violation underlies latest US tax and securities fraud charges

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-76
Author(s):  
Miriam Fisher ◽  
Brian McManus
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Tax Compliance ◽  
Financial Fraud ◽  
Securities Fraud ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – To explain the details and implications of a September 9, 2014 federal indictment, US v. Robert Bandfield, the first time a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) violation has been charged as an “overt act” in furtherance of a tax conspiracy and securities fraud. Design/methodology/approach – Provides background, including the enactment of FATCA and the details of the indictment; describes an undercover investigation conducted by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force; and discusses the warnings this indictment sends to the global financial community. Findings – The indictment confirms the coordinated and aggressive tactics US law enforcement is now employing to investigate and prosecute offshore financial fraud. Practical implications – Banks and financial service providers need to be aware of the impact of enhanced US regulatory obligations and implement appropriate compliance measures. These institutions must also remain sensitive to risks presented by unscrupulous customers. Finally, they must be ready to manage appropriately information-gathering and investigatory inquiries originating with US authorities. Originality/value – Practical guidance from experienced tax controversy lawyers.

The Effective Temperature of Dust Impact Plasmas — Olivine Dust on Tungsten Target

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Pavlů ◽  
Samuel Kočiščák ◽  
Åshild Fredriksen ◽  
Michael DeLuca ◽  
Zoltan Sternovsky
Keyword(s):  
Negative Charge ◽  
Negative Ions ◽  
Charge Carriers ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Applied Bias ◽  
Control Grid ◽  
Impact Speed ◽  
Positive Ions ◽  
Effective Temperatures ◽  
The Impact

<p>We experimentally observe both positive and negative charge carriers in impact plasma and estimate their effective temperatures. The measurements are carried on a dust accelerator using polypyrrole (PPy)-coated olivine dust particles impacting tungsten (W) target in the velocity range of 2–18 km/s. We measure the retained impact charge as a function of applied bias potential to the control grid. The temperatures are estimated from the data fit. The estimated effective temperatures of the positive ions are approximately 7 eV and seems to be independent of the impact speed. The negative charge carriers' temperatures vary from as low as 1 eV for the lowest speeds to almost ten times higher speeds. The presented values differ significantly from previous studies using Fe dust particles. Yet, the discrepancy can be attributed to a larger fraction of negative ions in the impact plasma that likely originates from the PPy coating.</p>

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