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Volpe Center Highlights - Summer 2005

Published and Presented

Director's Notes | Dr. Kaveeshwar: First RITA Administrator | Focus | Safety
Mobility | Security | Contributions to TRB | Published and Presented

• Acoustic Characterization of Wake Vortices. Mr. Hadi Wassaf and Dr. Frank Y. Wang of the Surveillance and Assessment Division Wake Turbulence Team co-authored a paper titled "Acoustic Characterization of Wake Vortices in Ground Effect," presented by Dr. Wang at the annual winter meeting of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Reno, Nevada, January 12-15, 2005. Additional coauthors are two undergraduate students from the Aerospace Engineering Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The paper reports on a joint Volpe-MIT exploratory study at Logan International Airport to measure the acoustic signal emitted by aircraft wake vortices at the runway threshold area.

• Metrics of Communications Performance. Dr. Kim Cardosi and Ms. Amanda DiFiore of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division coauthored "Metrics of Communications Performance," the lead article of the January 21, 2005 issue of Air Traffic Control Quarterly on aviation communication metrics (Volume 12, Number 4). Metrics of voice communication between air traffic controllers and pilots are important indices of the performance of the National Airspace System. The article summarizes the results of research conducted at the Volpe Center and other research that examines various aspects of aviation voice communications and the implications for system safety and future enhancements.

• Human Factors in Railroad Operations. Dr. Thomas Sheridan of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division and Dr. Edward J. Lanzilotta of the Human-Machine Systems Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology co-authored two FRA reports published in January 2005, which are available at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/opsad/pubs.html.

  • Human Factors Phase III: Effects of Train Control Technology on Operator Performance, DOT-VNTSC-FRA-05-01; DOT/FRA/ORD-04/18.

  • Human Factors Phase IV: Risk Analysis Tool for New Train Control Technology, DOT-VNTSC-FRA-05-02; DOT/FRA/ORD-04/17.

• Consensus Rulemaking. Mr. David Tyrell of the Structures and Dynamics Division co-authored "Consensus Rulemaking at the Federal Railroad Administration: All Aboard for Railway Safety Measures," TR News, No. 236, January-February, 2005. Grady C. Cothen, Jr., Acting Associate Administrator for Safety at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), is the primary author of the paper. Christopher F. Schulte, FRA Railroad Safety Specialist, and Jeffrey D. Horn, FRA Senior Industry Economist, are also co-authors.

• ITS and Truck Parking. Dr. Scott Smith of the Service and Operations Assessment Division, Mr. William Baron of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division, Mr. Kevin Gay of the Motor Carrier Safety Assessment Division, and Mr. Gary Ritter of the Service and Operations Assessment Division produced a report for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration titled "Intelligent Transportation Systems and Truck Parking," published February 2005. FMCSA-RT-05-001. The report is available at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/briefs/intelligent-transportation-truckparking.htm.

• Biometrics for Entry Point Screening. Mr. William Baron of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division presented "Authenticating Passengers While Inside Moving Vehicles: Using Biometrics for Entry Point Screening and Border Security" at the Winter 2005 Biometrics Summit, held February 23-25, 2005, in Miami, Florida. The presentation described several tests involving vehicle passenger authentication and the lessons learned from them.

Typically, noise barriers along highways are used to reduce traffic noise propagating into neighboring communities. The Volpe Center Acoustics Facility is conducting research to determine the benefits of "quiet" pavements, which may reduce tire/road noise at the source.

• Quiet Pavement. Dr. Judith Rochat of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division presented "Quiet Pavement Research and Applications" on February 5, 2005, at the Annual Meeting of the Rubber Pavement Association in Reno, Nevada.

• IEEE/ASME Joint Rail Conference. Several Volpe presentations were made at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (ASME/IEEE) Joint Rail Conference, held March 16-18, 2005, in Pueblo, Colorado.

  • "Impact Resistance of Rail Vehicle Window Glazing and Related Safety Issues," Mr. James Lamond of the Railroad Systems Division, Mr. Tom Tsai of the Federal Railroad Administration, and Mr. Sam Liao of Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas.

  • "Preparations for a Train-to-Train Impact Test of Crash-Energy Management Passenger Rail Equipment," Mr. David Tyrell, Ms. Karina Jacobsen, Dr. Benjamin Perlman, and Mr. Daniel Parent, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division. RTD2005-70045.

  • "Review of Severe Deformation Recommended Practice Through Analyses - Comparison of Two Cab Car Frame Designs," Mr. David Tyrell, Mr. Eloy Martinez, and Mr. John Zolock, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division, and Mr. Jacques Brassard of Bombardier. RTD2005-70043.

  • "The Influence of Train Types, Car Weight, and Train Length on Passenger Train Crashworthiness," Ms. Michelle Priante, Mr. David Tyrell, and Dr. Benjamin Perlman, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division. RTD2005-70042.

• Human Factors in Transportation. Ms. Mary Lee presented "Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and People: Examples of Human Factors in Transportation," at the 31st Annual National Convention of the National Society of Black Engineers, held in Boston, Massachusetts, March 23-27, 2005.

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