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Volpe Center Highlights - June/July 2001
Papers and Presentations
Director's Notes |
Focus |
Safety |
Mobility |
Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade |
National Security |
Papers and Presentations |
Awards
The January - February 2001 issue of Interfaces, an international journal of the Institute of Operations Research and the Management Sciences, contained the paper, "Enhancements to the FAA Ground-Delay Program Under Collaborative Decision Making." The paper was written by Mr. Rick Oiesen, Automation Applications Division; Ken Howard, Arcon (a Volpe Center contractor); and four staff members from Metron, Inc, (an FAA contractor). The Volpe Center works with the FAA, the airline community, and others on Collaborative Decision Making, a high-priority initiative to reduce ground delays that enables the FAA and airlines to share information and decision making. On March 14, 2001, Dr. John Brewer of the Vehicle Crashworthiness Division presented an overview of his paper, "Effects of Angles and Offsets in Crash Simulations of Automobiles with Light Trucks," during a videoconference between the Division and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Headquarters. Volpe attendees included Mr. George Neat, Division Chief, and Mr. Lawrence Simeone, also of the Division. NHTSA attendees included Dr. Rolf Eppinger, Director of the National Transportation Biomechanics Research Center; Dr. W. Thomas Hollowell, Chief of the Crashworthiness Research Division; and Dr. Keith Brewer, Director of the Office of Human-Centered Research. The participants discussed possible methodologies for using computational models of varying complexity to recreate car crashes investigated in the Crash Injury Research & Engineering Network program. On April 9 and 10, 2001, Mr. Michael Dyer of the Technology Applications and Deployment Division attended the bi-annual Marine Bioinvasions Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. He presented the paper "Performance Test of Alternative Ballast Water Treatment Systems," which reports results of field audits of four commercially available systems for onboard treatment to prevent or reduce the discharge of aquatic nuisance species in ship ballast into coastal waters. The audits were part of the Volpe Center's support of the U.S. Coast Guard's Aquatic Nuisance Species Program. Dr. Arthur Flores of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division participated in the Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the International Association for Chemical Testing, held in Williamsburg, Virginia, from April 22 through 26, 2001. Dr. Flores presented the paper "Relationship between Breath Temperature and Breath Alcohol Concentration." The Volpe Center is supporting the NHTSA Office of Traffic Injury and Controls Programs by studying techniques for measuring alcohol on the breath and in the blood of suspected drunk drivers. Dr. William Riddell of the Structures and Dynamics Division attended the Association of American Railroads Bureau of Explosives conference on Hazardous Materials Safety in Dallas, Texas, held May 14 through 17, 2001. As part of a session on tank car research, Dr. Riddell presented the results of research on fatigue crack growth behavior in tank car materials. This ongoing research is being conducted by the Volpe Center in support of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Rail Equipment Safety Program. In support of the FRA's Office of Research and Development program on Track Inspection Techniques, Dr. Theodore Sussmann of the Structures and Dynamics Division chaired a conference session and made a technical presentation at "Railway Engineering 2001" held in London, U.K., on April 30 through May 1, 2001. The conference covered many topics of interest to the FRA's research programs, ranging from railway track design and investigation to rail and track maintenance. Dr. Sussmann presented his paper, "Indications of Railway Track Performance Problems on Embankments from Ground Penetrating Radar," which was accepted for publication in the conference proceedings. In addition, Dr. Sussmann chaired the second session on Earthworks, in which three innovative techniques for improving track safety and stability were presented. In support of the FRA's Office of Research and Development, the Volpe Center conducts research into rail equipment crashworthiness that contributes to FRA requirements and regulations. Mr. David Tyrell of the Structures and Dynamics Division leads this effort. On May 2, 2001, Mr. Tyrell presented some of the results of this research at a symposium on rail equipment crashworthiness titled "What Can We Realistically Expect from Crashworthiness" held in London, U.K. The symposium, sponsored by The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, was conducted in response to several recent passenger train collisions. Mr. Tyrell presented "U.S. Rail Equipment Crashworthiness Standards," in the session on Crashworthiness Objectives, and another paper, "Rail Passenger Equipment Accidents and the Evaluation of Crashworthiness Strategies," in the session on The Future. The Volpe Center is supporting the U.S. Coast Guard through the technical review of proposed marine safety and enviromental protection regulations and the development of regulatory assessments of their costs and benefits. In June 2001, Mr. Michael Dyer of the Technology Applications and Deployment Division delivered the Final Report "Regulatory Assessment, Vessel and Facility Response Plans: 2003 Mechanical Response CAPS, and Dispersant and In Situ Burning Measures" to Coast Guard Headquarters. The report will serve as the basis for the public rulemaking process.
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