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This paper describes the validation of RAMSIS, a 3-D CAD human model for ergonomic vehicle evaluation. At GM NAO, the model’s capability to correctly predict position and posture in vehicle CAD environments was tested. H- and Eye point locations between RAMSIS manikins and their human counterparts were compared. At GM/SAAB the model’s postural discomfort predictability was evaluated. Changes in postural discomfort predictions of the RAMSIS manikins were compared to that of the human subjects when they evaluated two different driving buck conditions. We concluded that RAMSIS has good position, posture and postural discomfort prediction capabilities and is a useful CAD ergonomic evaluation and design tool for vehicle interiors.

An Advanced Automotive Manikin (ADAM), is used to evaluate liquid cooling garments (LCG) for advanced space suits for extravehicular applications and launch and entry suits. The manikin is controlled by a finite-element physiological model of the human thermoregulatory system. ADAM's thermal response to a baseline LCG was measured.The local effectiveness of the LCG was determined. These new thermal comfort tools permit detailed, repeatable measurements and evaluation of LCGs. Results can extend to other personal protective clothing including HAZMAT suits, nuclear/biological/ chemical protective suits, fire protection suits, etc.

People who wear protective uniforms that inhibit evaporation of sweat can experience reduced productivity and even health risks when their bodies cannot cool themselves. This paper describes a new sweating manikin and a numerical model of the human thermoregulatory system that evaluates the thermal response of an individual to transient, non-uniform thermal environments. The physiological model of the human thermoregulatory system controls a thermal manikin, resulting in surface temperature distributions representative of the human body. For example, surface temperatures of the extremities are cooler than those of the torso and head. The manikin contains batteries, a water reservoir, and wireless communications and controls that enable it to operate as long as 2 hours without external connections. The manikin has 120 separately controlled heating and sweating zones that result in high resolution for surface temperature, heat flux, and sweating control.

During the early phase of vehicle development, one of the key design attributes to consider is visibility for the driver. Visibility is the ability to see the surrounding environment as one is driving. This need should drive the vehicle design enabling a move favorable view for the driver. Certain vehicle characteristics such as the size of windshield and the design of the pillar influence the perception of visibility for the driver. One specific characteristic influencing satisfaction is forward up vision, which is the subject of this paper. The objective of this project was to analyze the influence of forward up vision on driver satisfaction under real world driving conditions. Other influences such as the positon of the occupant in the seat was also studied. This study was supported by research, statistical data analysis and dynamic clinics.

During the early phase of vehicle development, one of the key design attributes to consider is visibility for the driver. Visibility is the ability to see one’s surrounding environment while they are driving. Therefore, it is one of the key requirements to be considered during the vehicle design. Certain vehicle characteristics such as the size of windshield and the design of the pillars influence the perception of visibility for the driver. One specific characteristic influencing satisfaction is A-pillar obscuration and location, which is the subject of this paper. The objective of this project is to analyze the relationship between the A-pillar obscuration/location with the driver satisfaction under real world driving conditions, based on research, statistical data analysis and dynamic clinics. Other influences, such as the position of the occupant in the seat was also studied and captured in this paper.

The so-called Modified Martempering discussed in this work differs from the standard martempering by that the temperature of the quenching bath is below the Ms point. In spite of the fact the lower temperature increases the severity of quenching, this also usually avoids the bainite formation, and by this reason, it is possible to make a fair comparison between different processes, which result in different microstructures. The present study shows the results in terms of mechanical properties, impact resistance in special of a cold work tool steel class, after being heat treated by the isothermal modified martempering process, as well as a comparison with the conventional quenching and tempering process and the austempering as well.

This paper summarizes the several of the studies in the Environmental Science Program being sponsored by DOE's Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The goal of the Environmental Science Program is to understand atmospheric impacts and potential health effects that may be caused by the use of petroleum-based fuels and alternative transportation fuels from mobile sources. The Program is regulatory-driven, and focuses on ozone, airborne particles, visibility and regional haze, air toxics, and health effects of air pollutants. Each project in the Program is designed to address policy-relevant objectives. Current projects in the Environmental Science Program have four areas of focus: improving technology for emissions measurements; vehicle emissions measurements; emission inventory development/improvement; ambient impacts, including health effects.

This paper summarizes current work in the Environmental Science & Health Effects (ES&HE) Program being sponsored by DOE's Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The program is regulatory-driven, and focuses on ozone, airborne particles, visibility and regional haze, air toxics, and health effects of air pollutants. The goal of the ES&HE Program is to understand atmospheric impacts and potential health effects that may be caused by the use of petroleum-based and alternative transportation fuels. Each project in the program is designed to address policy-relevant objectives. Studies in the ES&HE Program have four areas of focus: improving technology for emissions measurements; vehicle emissions measurements, emission inventory development/improvement; and ambient impacts, including health effects.

Test procedures for evaluating vehicle compatibility were investigated based on accident analysis and crash tests. This paper summarizes the research reported by Japan to the IHRA Compatibility Working Group. Passenger cars account for the largest share of injuries in head-on collisions in Japan and were identified as the first target for tackling vehicle compatibility in Japan. To ascertain situations in collisions between vehicles of different sizes, we conducted crash tests between minicars and large cars, and between small cars and large cars. The deformation and acceleration of the minicar and small car is greater than that of large car. ODB, Overload and MDB tests were performed as procedures for evaluating vehicle compatibility. In overload tests, methods to evaluate the strength of the passenger compartment were examined, and it is found that this test procedure is suitable for evaluating the strength of passenger compartments.

Reliable assessment of occupant thermal comfort can be difficult to obtain within automotive environments, especially under transient and asymmetric heating and cooling scenarios. Evaluation of HVAC system performance in terms of comfort commonly requires human subject testing, which may involve multiple repetitions, as well as multiple test subjects. Instrumentation (typically comprised of an array of temperature sensors) is usually only sparsely applied across the human body, significantly reducing the spatial resolution of available test data. Further, since comfort is highly subjective in nature, a single test protocol can yield a wide variation in results which can only be overcome by increasing the number of test replications and subjects. In light of these difficulties, various types of manikins are finding use in automotive testing scenarios.

This paper describes a system-level view of a fully automated transit system comprising a fleet of automated vehicles (AVs) in driverless operation, each with an SAE level 4 Automated Driving System, along with its related safety infrastructure and other system equipment. This AV system-level control is compared to the automatic train control system used in automated guideway transit technology, particularly that of communications-based train control (CBTC). Drawing from the safety principles, analysis methods, and risk assessments of CBTC systems, comparable functional subsystem definitions are proposed for AV fleets in driverless operation. With the prospect of multiple AV fleets operating within a single automated mobility district, the criticality of protecting roadway junctions requires an approach like that of automated fixed-guideway transit systems, in which a guideway switch zone “interlocking” at each junction location deconflicts railway traffic, affirming safe passage.

Sled tests were conducted with some seats which had different characteristics to understand the relationships between occupant motion and seat characteristics in lowspeed rear impacts. The position of the head restraint and the stiffness distribution of the seatback were selected as parameters expressing seat characteristics. Volunteer’s cervical vertebral motions were photographed with an x-ray cineradiographic system at a speed of 90 frames/sec as well as the visible motions of dummy’s and volunteer’s were recorded. The results indicated the head restraint position and upper seatback stiffness influenced occupant motions. Correlations between visible motions, such as ramping-up, retraction and extension, were also analyzed and some correlations were found.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a suite of thermal comfort tools to help develop smaller and more efficient climate control systems in automobiles. The tools consist of a thermal comfort manikin, physiological model, and psychological model that are linked together to assess comfort in a transient non-homogeneous environment. The manikin, which consists of 120 individually controlled zones, mimics the human body by heating, sweating, and breathing. The physiological model is a 40,000-node numerical simulation of the human body. The model receives heat loss data from the manikin and predicts the human physiological response and skin temperatures. Based on human subject test data, the psychological model takes the temperatures of the human and predicts thermal sensation and comfort.

This paper describes the validation of RAMSIS, a 3-D CAD human model for ergonomic vehicle evaluation at General Motors (GM). The model’s capability to correctly predict position and posture in vehicle CAD environments was tested. H- and Eye point locations between RAMSIS manikins and their human counterparts were compared. We concluded that RAMSIS has good position and posture prediction capabilities and is a useful CAD ergonomic evaluation and design tool for vehicle interiors.

An ADvanced Automotive Manikin (ADAM) developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is used to evaluate NASA’s liquid cooling garments (LCGs) used in advanced spacesuits. The manikin has 120 separate heated/sweating zones and is controlled by a finite-element physiological model of the human thermo-regulatory system. Previous testing showed the thermal sensation and comfort followed expected trends as the LCG inlet fluid temperature was changed. The Phase II test data demonstrates the repeatability of ADAM by retesting the baseline LCG. Skin and core temperature predictions using ADAM in an LCG/arctic suit combination are compared to NASA physiological data to validate the manikin/model. An additional Orlan LCG configuration is assessed using the manikin and compared to the baseline LCG.

A series of side impact tests have been conducted to evaluate the biofidelity of the latest prototype of a small side impact dummy, SID-II s β+(plus). The tests were lateral impacts for the thorax, shoulder, and pelvis, as well as lateral drops for the head, thorax, abdomen, and pelvis. The test data were compared to the response target corridors that were estimated by scaling the cadaver test data to a smaller occupant. The test results show that the head, should, thorax, abdomen and pelvis of the SID-II s β+ either completely or close to meets the response target corridors, and that its biofidelity has been improved from the previous dummy SID II s B-prototype.

This paper summarizes a future side impact test procedure based on the Japanese presentation at the recent IHRA Side Impact WG meeting. Under current Japanese regulations, the MDB specifications and test procedures were determined based on a market study more than ten years ago. Thus, they may not reflect current automobile characteristics, the actual accident situation, and crash test results. In this study (1) the vehicle types, velocity of striking and struck vehicles, body injury regions, causes of injuries, etc., are reviewed with reference to the latest Japanese side impact accident data. The occupant percentages for the non-struck-side, rear seat and for female occupants as well as the injury levels were analyzed. (2) To determine the MDB specifications, based on data from passenger car models registered in 1998, the curb mass, geometry and stiffness were examined. (3) For factorial analysis, side impact tests were performed as for real accidents.

The Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) was launched in 1995 in order to improve car safety performance. According to this program, installation conditions of safety devices and the results for braking performance and full- frontal crash test are published every year. The side impact test was introduced in 1999. In 2000, the offset frontal crash test was also introduced. From the viewpoint of such a diversification of the crash tests, an overall assessment method for the safety of cars which reflects road accidents has been demanded. In this study, we have examined a new overall assessment method capable of reflecting the traffic accident situation in Japan using methods employed or planned by USA-NCAP, Euro-NCAP, TUB-NCAP and others as references. As the basic concept, JNCAP conducts three types of crash tests including the full-frontal crash test, offset frontal crash test, and side impact test to assess the dummy injury parameters.

The New Car Assessment Program in Japan (JNCAP) was launched in 1995 in order to improve car safety performance. According to this program, installation conditions of safety devices and the results for braking performance and full- frontal crash tests are published every year. Introduction of JNCAP significantly increases the installation rate of safety devices and contributes much in enhancement of safety as seen in the decrease in the average injury severity of drivers and passengers. Side impact and offset frontal crash tests were introduced in 1999 and 2000, respectively. At present, the overall crash safety rating is carried out based on the results of the full-frontal, offset frontal, and side impact tests.

ISO 12405-1,2 specifies international testing standards for lithium-ion batteries for vehicles. In the mechanical shock test is used to determine if the battery is damaged due to the shock imposed when the vehicle runs over a curb or similar minor accidents. Therefore, we conducted minor collision tests against a curb using an actual vehicle and compared the test results with the conditions specified in ISO 12405-1,2. The results confirmed that the impulse wave obtained using an actual vehicle within the range of the test in this study differs from the shape of the impulse wave specified in ISO 12405-1,2.