Maritime accident investigation and temporal determinants of maritime accidents: A case study

This paper presents the results of an investigation into temporal determinants of maritime accidents based on a data-set obtained from the proceedings of formal inquiries in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The results show that there is no statistically significant outcome between the probability for an accident and the time of watch. Thus the results do not confirm previous studies, which reported significant time of day effects.The outcome of this study indicates that marine inquiries can provide useful data for an analysis of underlying causes of maritime accidents. It is suggested that accident inquiries should be extended into the area of watch systems employed and should record the hours of work and of rest of the officers on the watch involved in a maritime accident.     

承受高应力的铁路配件

1引言 如今人们正在想方设法减轻铁道车辆的质量.对于使用越来越多的高速列车来说,机车总质量及其相关的车辆加速度、能源消耗是极为重要的.     

轿车前部结构参数对儿童头部损伤影响分析

在轿车-行人碰撞事故中,影响行人头部损伤的车辆前部结构参数主要有:保险杠中心离地高度、保险杠宽度和伸出长度、发动机盖前缘高度及发动机盖倾斜角等.文中首先建立了儿童行人的仿真模型,并利用事故重建验证了仿真模型的可靠性;接着采用正交试验分析了上述参数对儿童头部伤害指数的影响;最后将所得结果和成年行人头部损伤的相关指数进行比较.结果表明,前部结构参数对儿童头部损伤的影响比成人的大,其中发动机盖前缘高度对儿童行人头部伤害的影响最为显著.     

Evaluation of the effect of cooperative infrastructure-to-vehicle systems on driver behavior

In-vehicle technologies and co-operative services have potential to ease congestion problems and improve traffic safety. This paper investigates the impact of infrastructure-to-vehicle co-operative systems, case of CO-OPerative SystEms for Intelligent Road Safety (COOPERS), on driver behavior. Thirty-five test drivers drove an instrumented vehicle, twice, with and without the system. Data related to driving behavior, physiological measurements, and user acceptance was collected. A macro-level approach was used to evaluate the potential impact of such systems on driver behavior and traffic safety. The results in terms of speeds, following gaps, and physiological measurements indicate a positive impact. Furthermore, drivers’ opinions show that the system is in general acceptable and useful.     

Simulation of multiregional wave-structure impact on damping elements on offshore structures

Hydrodynamic impacts of free surface waves are a widely known issue in coastal and ship engineering. They can result in severe damage to important industry facilities (e.g. offshore wind turbines) or means of transport (e.g. oil tankers). This kinds of damage give rise to different difficulties due to economic losses and environmental pollution. On that account, the present paper deals with a special feature of a protective mechanism for offshore structures. We develop a numerical multiregional wave-structure impact model of a damping element prototype. The investigated prototype consists essentially of an elastic cover that is attached to the cylindrical mono-pile foundation at wave level. The chamber between the flexible structure and the mono-pile is filled with a liquid. A prototype of the damping element has been constructed as a mono-pile structure test object. In order to measure the hydrodynamic loads on the test object, we placed piezoelectric sensors on the stagnation points of the mono-pile. The multiregional simulation model created is able to imitate the wave impact and its consequences. These implications include the deformation and oscillation of the elastic shell, the resultant force affecting the pile and the dissipation power of the damping fluid. The dissipation power can be understood as the crucial factor preventing the shell from oscillating over long periods of time. It enables us to state the mechanical energy that is transfered due to the wave’s impact on the damping fluid region.