The 31 papers in this technical paper collection detail sustainability; vehicle solutions and technologies for freight efficiency; human factors in occupant safety; machine health and conditioned based maintenance; aerodynamic and fuel economy assessment methods and techniques; and service issues.
The On-Board Diagnostics II (OBD-II) port began as a means of extracting diagnostic information and supporting the right to repair. Self-driving vehicles and cellular dongles plugged into the OBD-II port were not anticipated. Researchers have shown that the cellular modem on an OBD-II dongle may be hacked, allowing the attacker to tamper with the vehicle brakes. ADAS, self-driving features and other vehicle functions may be vulnerable as well. The industry must balance the interests of multiple stakeholders including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who are required to provide OBD function, repair shops which have a legitimate need to access the OBD functions, dongle providers and drivers. OEMs need the ability to protect drivers and manage liability by limiting how a device or software application may modify the operation of a vehicle.
The Harrier is still the world's most mis-understood fighter and V/STOL the world's most neglected military art. This paper, based on almost 30 years of V/STOL experience, attempts to remove some of the fog of misconception that surrounds tactical jet V/STOL and uncover its proven merits in a CTOL-dominated field. The need for V/STOL in tactical aviation is discussed and the Harrier set in its historical frame alongside the many essays in this field over the past 30 years. Operational experience with jet V/STOL is examined in the context of the flexibility and simplicity of Harrier's powered lift systems and flight modes, compared with other jet V/STOL vehicles. The paper goes on to discuss the military compulsions of jet V/STOL and show its practical worth in many tactical scenarios including an outline of its success in the 1982 Falklands campaign.
IVHS, or Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems, is a concept rapidly growing in momentum among government, industry, and academia for a variety of reasons. As a key component in the eventual deployment of IVHS technologies, the auto industry can be expected to support its contribution to reduced congestion, improved safety, energy conservation, environmental quality, and more pleasant car ownership. But a number of difficult problems must be solved before the car companies jump in with both feet, including marketability, cost (and resultant price), national and international infrastructure compatibility, assurance that necessary infrastructure will be provided (essentially a government responsibility), product liability concerns, confirmation of benefits, inability to deal with time horizons beyond five to seven years, and depressed economic conditions.
This standard specifies requirements for the approval and maintenance of a manufacturer's capability and the procedures for the test and release of passive electronic components manufactured under capability approval. It also includes requirements for generic specifications that invoke this standard. It applies to all passive electronic components to be released under the capability requirements of an EIA generic and/or sectional and/or detail specification.
This SAE Recommended Practice specifies the performance test procedures and requirements of a plastic reservoir assembly suitable for use on a hydraulic brake master cylinder (reference SAE J1153). Intended usage is for on-road vehicles using brake fluid conforming to fMVSS-116 (DOT 3), and SAE J1703 specifications. This document includes the cap.cover and diaphragm as integral parts of the reservoir assembly. The fluid level sensor (FLS) is also included as an integral part of the assembly. However, additional FLS standards and/or requirements are applicable and necessary which are not covered in this document. This document is intended to provide a recommended practice and minimum performance requirements of current established designs on those reservoir assemblies generally used by individual manufacturers which have demonstrated satisfactory field performance. This document is applicable to new reservoir assemblies for commercial or aftermarket production.
Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems (IVHS) may change the character of automobile accidents and of automobile accident lawsuits in the United States. Successful implementation of IVHS technology will require significant capital investment by manufacturers and highway departments. Investment may be deterred by concern about potential legal liability and the cost of liability insurance. Liability and insurance experience with other pathbreaking technologies -- commercial air transportation, nuclear power, and satellites -- suggests that the liability risks of advanced stages of IVHS technology should be managed through federal or state legislation.
This paper reviews the status of personal aviation and proposes that information technology has made possible a personal aviation industry on a scale last imagined in the nineteen forties. The market goal of the system is 100 thousand sales per year, 100 times more than the current sales of general aviation airplanes. Seven specifications are set forth to meet the goal. They concern price, liability, performance, control, convenience, safety, and environmental impact. Helicopters and lift fans are examined in light of the specifications, but a kind of flying car seems more plausible. Personal aviation emerges as a system of three levels, including the Global Positioning System for navigation, an infrastructure called Skyways, and modular conveyances called Starcars that function as automobiles and airplanes. The system is under study at The University of Arizona, where a base station and mobile platform have been built to explore means for navigation, communication, and control.
Forty billion dollars are lost each year due to the failure of various components in a vast array of electronic devices. These failures result in downtime for part replacement, product liability issues, and critical safety ramifications. Many of the failures are caused by corrosion due to the migration of moisture or solder flux through leak paths inherent in electronic connectors and other parts, typically at the interface between metal leads and plastic housings into which they are molded. All industry standard approaches to preventing these failures have severe limitations and drawbacks. The approaches include discarding parts that fail a leak test, employing elaborate hermetically sealed encasements, or applying surface sealants. Each method of solving the problem creates other problems: costly high scrap rates, heavy, bulky assemblies, or introduction of a foreign material through surface sealants.
Administrative burdens greatly restrict the availability of the FAA to participate fully in the certification process of new aircraft. Recent TC ODA regulations and a corresponding FAA Order authorizing manufacturers to assume a greater role in new aircraft certifications may lead to new and interesting product liability skies ahead for the aircraft industry. This article reviews the legal foundation of product defect lawsuits against the aircraft industry and proposes several risk management strategies to strengthen your litigation defenses.
Legislative bodies are directing that automotive products comply with stringent safety levels. The liability for the safety of passengers in an automobile has traditionally been quite complex. Other transport sectors are externally regulated, and liability lies with the manufacturer or the transport service provider. The automotive industry is self-regulated and the individual driver carries a significant liability. Software and electronics increasingly provide greater control of automotive safety, possibly reducing driver liability, and increasing the need for more formal software development methods. The automotive business model, however, also presents challenges to the effective use of formal methods. An automotive design change costing €600 per vehicle could consume 100% of gross margin. In aviation, this cost represents 0.01% of gross margin [1] [2].
At the moment the documentation of failure inhibition matrices and the fault path management for different controller types and different vehicle projects are mainly maintained manually in individual Excel tables. This is not only time consuming but also gives a high potential for fault liability. In addition there is also no guarantee that the calibration of these failure inhibition matrices and its fault path really works. Conflicting aims between costs, time and fault liability require a new approach for the calibration, documentation and testing of failure inhibition matrices and the complete Diagnostic System Management (DSM) calibration. The standardization and harmonization of the Diagnostic System Management calibration for different calibration projects and derivates is the first step to reduce time and costs. Creating a master calibration for the conjoint fault paths and labels provides a significant reduction of efforts.
Sidewindow glass offers three significant and related areas of liability to automobile owners and drivers: smash and grab, spalling, laceration. 3M is currently testing an anti-spall/anti-lacerative film designed to improve the integrity and safety of both tempered and laminated sideglass. This paper will compare the performance and benefits of film-coated automotive glass to standard tempered and laminated glass for automotive sideglass applications.
Some years ago legislators in Europe passed a product liability law to protect the user from damages caused by “unsafe” products. Liability in this sense concerns not only manufacturers of tires but also suppliers of raw and basic materials, dealers, garages and remoulding companies. Both developments in legislation and high claims made by damaged parties can have tremendous effects on these companies. Risk analysis, action catalogues based on it and implementation of these actions ensure risk minimisation and prevention as far as possible. The key to success lies with quality assurance throughout all stages in the life of a tire.
The future sustainability of the automobile must include an approach to handle End-of-life Vehicles (ELVs) economically and within the new requirements imposed by the new European Directive. The European Directive on ELVs will change the management of ELVs in Europe by forcing auto manufacturers worldwide to take a greater financial responsibility for the proper environmental handling of their vehicles at the product's end-of-life (EOL). Essentially, the new policy encompasses Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by requiring hazardous materials to be removed from the vehicle and specific recovery targets (focusing on reuse and recycling) to be met. This paper discusses the findings of a study that applied a demanufacturing optimization model on a dismantled vehicle to evaluate the economics and material destinations within the imposed requirements of the new legislation.