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This is an overview of air bag injuries, a review of the literature and descriptions of air bag related injuries to the various body areas. Some unusual injuries are also included. The cases presented are from the author's files and one from the Special Studies Division of NHTSA.

In today’s Automotive world, there is NO need to advocate “Light weighting”. Government policies for carbon footprint reduction combined with high safety standards are driving OEMs to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies. Steel hot forming is selected as most preferred way to reduce weight as it is easy to adopt and commercially known. It had many advantages compare to conventional cold stamping of standard and high tensile steel. The process consists of heating blank to nearly 1000 °C and quenching it in tool to for martensitic structure. Higher strength up to 2000 MPa can be achieved by this process. There are many examples where part weight is reduced by 15 to 20 % by this method. But Steel hot forming has limitation as specific density of steel is still high. Thus, there is limitation to its weight reduction capability. For further reduction, OEMs have started exploring Aluminium hot forming.

As a typical parameter of the road-vehicle interface, the road friction potential acts an important factor that governs the vehicle motion states under certain maneuvering input, which makes the prior knowledge of maximum road friction capacity crucial to the vehicle stability control systems. Since the direct measure of the road friction potential is expensive for vehicle active safety system, the evaluation of this variable by cost effective method is becoming a hot issue all these years. A ‘wheel slip based’ maximum road friction coefficient estimation method based on a modified Dugoff tire model for distributed drive electric vehicles is proposed in this paper. It aims to evaluate the road friction potential with vehicle and wheel dynamics analyzing by using standard sensors equipped on production vehicle, and fully take the advantage of distributed EV that the wheel drive torque and rolling speed can be obtained accurately.

Whether we live on land, underwater, or out there in space, what makes it possible is our ‘skin’. The one we were born with, the one we wear, the one we live in, and the one we travel in. The skin is a response to where we live: it protects as our first line of defense against a hostile environment; it regulates as part of our life-support system; and, it communicates as our interface to everything within and without. In the context of space architecture – we, our space suits, vehicles and habitats are all equipped with highly specialized ‘skins’ that pad us, protect us and become an integral part of the design expression. This paper approaches the subject from a holistic perspective considering ‘skins’ and their manifestation as structure, as vessel, as texture, and as membrane. The paper then goes on to showcase innovative use of materials in practice through two case studies: the ‘spacesuit’ and ‘inflatable habitats’.

With the advent of low evaporative emission requirements there has been the rapid adoption of multilayer extrusion technology into the production of Fuel and Vapour tubing used on Fuel systems on automobiles. Multilayer extrusion technology enables a manufacturer of Fuel and Vapour tubing to simultaneously co-extrude dissimilar thermoplastic materials in tubular form. This allows the manufacturer to combine expensive and brittle high performance evaporative emission ‘barrier’ polymers with lower cost engineering polymers. However, it is a well-known characteristic of these multilayer tube constructions that the joints between them and connector ‘barbs’ have lower joint integrity. Joint integrity is most often quantified by ‘Pull-off’ and leakage tests. Recent developments in LEV-II requirements for 2004 and beyond indicate that joint integrity will become a focus area for study and improvement.

The sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L. LAM.) is a versatile and underexploited food crop. Consumption of sweetpotato based processed foods provide β-carotene, which is the major precursor of vitamin A. The sweetpotato has the potential to provide antioxidants that may help reduce the radiation risks astronauts face while in space. Therefore the objective of this experiment was to evaluate β-carotene in dehydrated hydroponic sweetpotato cultivars. Hydroponic cultivars WHATLEY/LORETAN and NCC-58 were grown with and without 7-10 μmole of light. WHATLEY/LORETAN contained the highest amount of β-carotene content average of 31 μg/100g in dehydrated hydroponic sweetpotatoes compared to NCC-58 with 18.5 μg/100g.

Prior theoretical work relating barrier equivalent velocity (BEV) and change in vehicle velocity, ΔV, has either neglected restitution or mischaracterized its role. Based on fundamental structural dynamics principles, improved relationships between BEV, ΔV, coefficient of restitution, and vehicle mass and stiffness are formulated. These corrected relationships are then utilized in the assessment of four classes of vehicular impact testing: vehicle to vehicle (VTV), vehicle to infinitely massive rigid barrier (VRB), vehicle to infinitely massive compliant barrier (VCB) and vehicle to finite mass movable rigid barrier (VFMB).

The Swedish Biomimetics 3000's μMist® platform technology has been used to develop a radically new injection system. This prototype system, developed and characterized with support from Lotus, as part of Swedish Biomimetics 3000®'s V₂IO innovation accelerating model, delivers improved combustion efficiency through achieving exceptionally small droplets, at fuel rail pressures far less than conventional GDI systems and as low as PFI systems. The system gives the opportunity to prepare and deliver all of the fuel load for the engine while the intake valves are open and after the exhaust valves have closed, thereby offering the potential to use advanced charge scavenging techniques in PFI engines which have hitherto been restricted to direct-injection engines, and at a lower system cost than a GDI injection system.

This recommended practice prescribes clear and consistent labeling methodology for communicating important xEV high voltage safety information. Examples of such information include identifying key high voltage system component locations and high voltage disabling points. These recommendations are based on current industry best practices identified by the responder community. Although this recommended practice is written for xEVs with high voltage systems, these recommendations can be applied to any vehicle type.

Abstract With the adoption of Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, security and privacy of vehicles are paramount. To avoid tracking while preserving vehicle/driver’s privacy, modern vehicular public key infrastructure provision vehicles with multiple short-term pseudonym certificates. However, provisioning a large number of pseudonym certificates can lead to an enormous growth of Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) during its revocation process. One possible approach to avoid such CRL growth is by relying on activation code (AC)-based solutions. In such solutions, the vehicles are provisioned with batches of encrypted certificates, which are decrypted periodically via the ACs (broadcasted by the back-end system). When the system detects a revoked vehicle, it simply does not broadcast the respective vehicle’s AC. As a result, revoked vehicles do not receive their respective AC and are prevented from decrypting their certificates.

THE DEVELOPMENT of new polymers offering properties and new combinations of desirable characteristics, coupled with advances in manufacturing techniques, has expanded the plastics horizon. This paper describes some of these new materials and a few of their many possible applications in the automotive industry. The author emphasizes that greater use of plastics in the automotive field depends to a great degree on the imagination and ability applied in creating new products. Design features most overcome the fundamental limitations of the new materials. The basic weaknesses of plastics are listed. Production techniques will affect the future expansion of the industry. Three methods show particular promise: blow molding, fluidized polymer deposition, and potting compounds.*

RADIATION can produce almost instantaneous failure of modern aircraft lubricants, tests at Southwest Research Institute show. Two types of failures demonstrated are rapid viscosity rise and loss of heat conductivity. Furthermore, it was found that lubricants can become excessively corrosive under high-level radiation. Generally speaking, the better lubricants appeared to improve in performance while marginal ones deteriorated to a greater extent under radiation. When the better lubricants were subjected to static irradiation prior to the deposition test, there was a minor increase in deposition number as the total dose was increased.

EXPERIMENTS have been conducted at Cambridge University which probed the sliding friction and wear of nonmetals, and the deformation of solids at high rates of strain. The author was particularly interested in the deformation and damage of metals and nonmetals under high-speed liquid impact. The findings will contribute to the development of materials that can withstand the friction of high-speed space flight. The author discusses the sliding friction and wear of wood, diamond, glass, rubber, and metallic carbides. In the last part of the paper, he describes the high-speed problems arising when solids are deformed very rapidly.

Cyclic oligomers of butylene terephthalate (CBT™)† represent a new chemical route to semi-crystalline thermoplastic polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). The oligomers of interest melt completely at about 150°C to produce a low viscosity fluid that is ideal for wetting and dispersing fibrous fillers and reinforcements thereby enabling the development of composites that were previously not possible when working with high viscosity commercial PBT. Introduction of catalyst to undiluted molten cyclic oligomer leads to rapid ring opening polymerization and the formation of high molecular weight thermoplastic PBT without the generation of volatile organic compounds. The polymer resulting from this polymerization will be hereby referred to as pCBT. Treatment of cyclic oligomers in this fashion results in pCBT thermoplastic resin with a high melting point (230°C) and physical performance similar to that of other commercially available PBT resins.

mDSF is a novel cylinder deactivation technology developed at Tula Technology, which combines the torque control of Dynamic Skip Fire (DSF) with Miller cycle engines to optimize fuel efficiency at minimal cost. mDSF employs a valvetrain with variable valve lift plus deactivation and novel control algorithms founded on Tula’s proven DSF technology. This allows cylinders to dynamically alternate among 3 potential states: high-charge fire, low-charge fire, and skip (deactivation). The low-charge fire state is achieved through an aggressive Miller cycle with Early Intake Valve Closing (EIVC). The three operating states in mDSF can be used to simultaneously optimize engine efficiency and driveline vibrations. Acceleration performance is retained using the all-cylinder, high-charge firing mode.

The purpose of this ARP is to provide criteria that will lead to and support existing regulatory standards of systems for UAM/AMM/eVTOL aircraft such that the emergency systems will facilitate egress under emergency conditions. Consideration is given to existing requirements of the FAA and to the recommendations of aircraft operators and those involved in the manufacture or use of the emergency lighting system. Occupant safety is the primary objective, with appropriate provisions for crew (pilot) system control taken into consideration. Consideration is also given to autonomous aircraft in which passengers are required to egress without the aid or direction of crew. The criteria established herein are intended to produce an emergency lighting system that will comply with the Federal and International Regulations. However, these recommendations are but one means of meeting the objective.

eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) is a powerful X-ray telescope under development by the Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) in Garching, Germany. eROSITA is the core instrument on the Russian SRG1 mission which is planned for launch in 2011. It comprises seven nested Wolter-I grazing incidence telescopes, each equipped with its own CCD camera. The mirror modules have to be maintained at 20°C while the cameras are operated at -80°C. Both, mirrors and CCDs have to be kept within tight limits. The CCD cooling system consists of passive thermal control components only: two radiators, variable conductance heat pipes (VCHP) and two special thermal storage units. The orbit scenario imposes severe challenges on the thermal control system and also on the attitude control system.

Worldwide, 1.2 million people die in road crashes yearly; 43,000 in Europe alone. This implies a cost to European society of approximately 160 billion euros, and takes up 10% of all healthcare resources. To reduce these rates, safety technologies have been developed which help to minimize the severity of injuries to vehicle occupants. However, studies have shown that most deaths due to road accidents occur in the time between the accident and the arrival of medical care. Therefore, a fast and efficient rescue operation would significantly increase the injured person's probability of survival. The aim of this project was to define the On-Board Unit (OBU) hardware and software installed in all modern vehicles which could request medical and technical support after a road accident. This device, based on the information from the vehicle sensors, automatically decides whether the car has suffered a road accident or not, the severity of the accident and the kind of accident (impact area).

The permanently increasing number of convenience and safety functions leads to higher complexity of in-car electronics and the rapidly growing amount of sensors, actuators and electronic control units places higher demands on high- speed data communication protocols. Safety-critical systems need deterministic protocols with fault-tolerant behavior. The need for on-board diagnosis calls for flexible use of bandwidth and an ever-increasing number of functions necessitates a flexible means of extending the system. None of the communication solutions available on the market until now (like CAN or TTP) have been able to fulfill all these demands. To solve these problems, BMW together with several semiconductor companies has developed a new protocol for safety-critical applications in automotive vehicles.