22 research outputs found
REAR SEAT SAFETY IN FRONTAL TO SIDE IMPACTS – FOCUSING ON OCCUPANTS FROM 3YRS TO SMALL ADULTS
ABSTRACT
This study presents a broad comprehensive
research effort that combines expertise from
industry and academia and uses various
methodologies with applied research directed
towards countermeasures. The project includes
real world crash data analysis, real world driving
studies and crash testing and simulations,
aiming at enhancing the safety of forward facing
child occupants (aged 3y to small adults) in the
rear seat during frontal to side impacts.
The real world crash data analyses of properly
restrained children originate from European as
well as US data. Frontal and side impact crash
tests are analyzed using different sizes of crash
test dummies in different sitting postures. Side
impact parameter studies using FE-models are
run. The sitting posture and behavior of 12
children are monitored while riding in the rear
seat. Also, the body kinematics and belt position
during actual braking and turning maneuvers are
studied for 16 rear seat child occupants and for
various child dummies.
Real world crash data indicates that several of
the injured children in frontal impacts, despite
being properly restrained, impacted the vehicle
interior structure with their head/face resulting in
serious injury. This was attributed to oblique
crashes, pre-crash vehicle maneuvers or high
crash severity. Crash tests confirm the
importance of proper initial belt-fit for best
protection. The crash tests also highlight the
difficulty in obtaining the real world kinematics
and head impact locations using existing crashtest dummies and test procedures. The side
impact parameter studies indicate that the
vehicle’s occupant protection systems, such as
airbags and seat belt pretensioners, play an
important role in protecting children as well.
The results from the on-road driving studies
illustrate the variation of sitting postures during
riding in the rear seat giving valuable input to the
effects of the restraint systems and to how
representative the standardized dummy seating
positioning procedures are. The results from the
maneuver driving studies illustrate the
importance of understanding the kinematics of a
child relative to the seat belt in a real world
maneuver situation.
Real world safety of rear seat occupants,
especially children, involves evaluation of
protection beyond standard crash testing
scenarios in frontal and side impact conditions.
This project explores the complete context of
rear seat protection in impact situations ranging
from front to side and directions in between
highlighting the importance of pre-crash posture
and behavior.
This research project at SAFER (Vehicle and
Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers), where
researchers from the industry and universities
cooperate with the aim to further improve safety
for children (from 3y) to small adults in the rear
seat, speeds up the process to safety
implementation due to the interaction between
academic and industrial researchers
Clinical value of wireless pH-monitoring of gastro-esophageal reflux in children before and after proton pump inhibitors
Trends in educational inequalities in obesity in 15 European countries between 1990 and 2010
Proceedings of the 9th international symposium on veterinary rehabilitation and physical therapy
Writing a handbook of vehicle safety measures
This paper describes the development of a handbook intended to increase the common Chinese knowledge of safety features in today’s cars. The handbook is the result of the joint effort of China based CATARC and Autoliv China as well as Sweden based Chalmers University and Autoliv Research. The origin and basis of the handbook is the master thesis work by the Chalmers student Jing Li. It is known from the introduction section that road traffic safety is a big issue at global levels for it is a leading factor for fatalities. The problem in China is serious since the number of vehicles on the roads grows fast, which means it is more likely to be exposed to road accidents and the safety countermeasures and people’s safety awareness fail to catch up with the increasing traffic. This project work is done following the methods of literature review, telephone interviews with Chinese people, accident data research, and Madymo simulations for common but dangerous situations. It is to combine the techniques and the real situations, which are totally different from Sweden, to make the techniques serve more people. Through these methods, the handbook of vehicle safety measures is developed
Assessment of Bilateral Thoracic Loading on the Near-Side Occupant Due to Occupant-to-Occupant Interaction in Vehicle Crash Tests
<div><p><b>Objective:</b> This study aims, by means of the WorldSID 50th percentile male, to evaluate thoracic loading and injury risk to the near-side occupant due to occupant-to-occupant interaction in combination with loading from an intruding structure.</p><p><b>Method:</b> Nine vehicle crash tests were performed with a 50th percentile WorldSID male dummy in the near-side (adjacent to the intruding structure) seat and a THOR or ES2 dummy in the far-side (opposite the intruding structure) seat. The near-side seated WorldSID was equipped with 6 + 6 IR-Traccs (LH and RH) in the thorax/abdomen enabling measurement of bilateral deflection. To differentiate deflection caused by the intrusion, and the deflection caused by the neighboring occupant, time history curves were analyzed. The crash tests were performed with different modern vehicles, equipped with thorax side airbags and inflatable curtains, ranging from a compact car to a large sedan, and in different loading conditions such as car-to-car, barrier, and pole tests. Lateral delta <i>V</i> based on vehicle tunnel acceleration and maximum residual intrusion at occupant position were used as a measurement of crash severity to compare injury measurements.</p><p><b>Result:</b> In the 9 vehicle crash tests, thoracic loading, induced by the intruding structure as well as from the far-side occupant, varied due to the size and structural performance of the car as well as the severity of the crash. Peak deflection on the thoracic outboard side occurred during the first 50 ms of the event. Between 70 to 150 ms loading induced by the neighboring occupant occurred and resulted in an inboard-side peak deflection and viscous criterion. In the tests where the target vehicle lateral delta <i>V</i> was below 30 km/h and intrusion less than 200 mm, deflections were low on both the outboard (20–40 mm) and inboard side (10–15 mm). At higher crash severities, delta <i>V</i> 35 km/h and above as well as intrusions larger than 350 mm, the inboard deflections (caused by interaction to the far-side occupant) were of the same magnitude or even higher (30–70 mm) than the outboard deflections (30–50 mm).</p><p><b>Conclusion:</b> A WorldSID 50th percentile male equipped with bilateral IR-Traccs can detect loading to the thorax from a neighboring occupant making injury risk assessment feasible for this type of loading. At crash severities resulting in a delta <i>V</i> above 35 km/h and intrusions larger than 350 mm, both the inboard deflection and VC resulted in high risks of Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 3+ injury, especially for a senior occupant.</p></div
Environmental DNA filtration techniques affect recovered biodiversity
Abstract Freshwater metazoan biodiversity assessment using environmental DNA (eDNA) captured on filters offers new opportunities for water quality management. Filtering of water in the field is a logistical advantage compared to transport of water to the nearest lab, and thus, appropriate filter preservation becomes crucial for maximum DNA recovery. Here, the effect of four different filter preservation strategies, two filter types, and pre-filtration were evaluated by measuring metazoan diversity and community composition, using eDNA collected from a river and a lake ecosystem. The filters were preserved cold on ice, in ethanol, in lysis buffer and dry in silica gel. Our results show that filters preserved either dry or in lysis buffer give the most consistent community composition. In addition, mixed cellulose ester filters yield more consistent community composition than polyethersulfone filters, while the effect of pre-filtration remained ambiguous. Our study facilitates development of guidelines for aquatic community-level eDNA biomonitoring, and we advocate filtering in the field, using mixed cellulose ester filters and preserving the filters either dry or in lysis buffer