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Volpe Center Highlights - October 1999SafetyDirector's Notes |
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Human and Natural Environment |
Volpe Center Supports FAA Conference on Aging Aircraft in Albuquerque (FAA) Dr. Kemal Arin and Mr. George Neat of the Vehicle Crashworthiness Division participated as Session Chairs at the Third Joint FAA/DoD/NASA Conference on Aging Aircraft held in Albuquerque, New Mexico from September 20 to 23. Since 1989, the Volpe Center has been providing technical support to the FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center in the National Aging Aircraft Research Program. Part of the Volpe Center's role involves communicating with the research community by participating in technical conferences. The FAA was the lead agency for this conference, and Dr. Thomas Flournoy, manager of the FAA's Aging Aircraft Program and the FAA's manager of Aging Aircraft work at the Volpe Center, was responsible for organizing the conference, with support from the Volpe Center. The purpose of the conference was to disseminate information on current practices and advances in technologies to ensure continued airworthiness of aging aircraft in the military and commercial fleets; four of the technical sessions were devoted to aging non-structural systems. The conference has been mentioned in the national press because of the issue of aging wiring addressed in these sessions. There was broad participation of government agencies at the conference, including U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Army Tank Command, NASA, and FAA sponsors of work at the FAA Technical Center. Volpe Center and NHTSA Develop Fleet Systems Model in Crashworthiness Research Support (NHTSA) Mr. John Guglielmi of the Vehicle Crashworthiness Division has recently completed one phase of evaluating the Chevrolet C-1500 full-size pickup, one of the vehicles selected for study under the Fleet Systems Model program. The Vehicle Crashworthiness Division is supporting the NHTSA Crashworthiness Research Division in developing a Fleet Systems Model. The multi-purpose finite element model of this vehicle was developed by George Washington University's National Crash Analysis Center for frontal and side impacts. This vehicle model was initially used as a "bullet" vehicle during simulation runs where a few anomalies were detected, including no bumper-to-wheel contact, seat-back rotation, and excessive downward pitching of the transmission. Evaluation of this model for frontal applications is now complete. The model will be used to study vehicle aggressivity and fleet compatibility, and to determine vehicle design characteristics that will result in reduced injuries and fatalities in automobile crashes. Twelve finite element models of motor vehicles are being developed for NHTSA and the Volpe Center and are being evaluated to provide feedback to the model developers. A Technical Information Exchange (TIE) dated September 30, 1999, summarizes recommended changes to the model. Design Review of the Next Generation High-Speed Rail Program, Non-Electric Locomotive Development Program (FRA) On September 28, Mr. Michael Coltman of the High-Speed Ground Transportation Division attended a preliminary design review of the engine integration for the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Non-Electric Locomotive Development Program at Bombardier's engineering facilities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bombardier and the FRA have entered into a cooperative agreement to build and demonstrate a lightweight, high-speed, gas turbine-powered passenger locomotive. Bombardier has selected a Pratt and Whitney gas turbine as the primary engine for the demonstration train, scheduled to be tested in the fall of next year. The Volpe Center provides technology assessment support to the FRA under the Next Generation High-Speed Rail Program. Issues addressed in the design review were size, weight, airflow, and auxiliary system requirements for the engine. Integrated with the engine is a reduction gear originally designed to reduce the rotating speed of the gas turbine to speeds more appropriate for propellers. The locomotive application will couple to variable speed generators producing electrical power used to drive modern traction motors. The weight, fuel consumption, and performance of the engine across the range of operating conditions were addressed during the review.
Presentations at the Annual Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation Satellite Division (FAA) Dr. Michael Geyer of the Surveillance and Sensors Division and Ms. Karen Van Dyke of the Center for Navigation attended the Annual Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation (ION) Satellite Division, held on September 14 to 17 in Nashville, Tennessee. Satellite navigation specialists, managers, and policy makers from around the world gathered to explore significant developments in the areas of policy, equipment, and techniques. Dr. Geyer co-authored and presented a paper entitled "FAA GPS Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation Program," based on the Volpe Center's support of the FAA's Office of Spectrum Policy and Management and activities related to that office. The Volpe Center is developing two systems for detecting and localizing sources of interference to the global positioning system (GPS) in the National Airspace System (NAS). These systems - the GPS Interference Location System for Handheld Use and the Airborne Radio Frequency Interference Location System - will shift to FAA use in the NAS in the coming year. The Center's work is sponsored by the FAA's Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance organization. Transportation Awareness Day
On September 15, the Volpe Center served as host to Boston Properties (the management team of neighboring buildings) who sponsor an annual Transportation Awareness Day. The event makes information available to Cambridge-area employees on alternative means of transportation, including public transportation, bicycling, and shared commuting. On display were two automobiles, one electric and one powered by natural gas. As part of a ONE DOT effort, several modal offices made a variety of transportation information available. The FRA provided information on grade crossing safety; the NHTSA brought attention to their Buckle Up Campaign; and FTA provided informational booklets on public transit and livable communities. The event, coordinated by Ms. Theresa McTague of the Office of Communications and Technology Outreach, was held on the grounds of the Volpe Center. Intelligent Cruise Control System Final Report Approved for Publication (NHTSA) Mr. Joseph Koziol of the Accident Prevention Division was the project manager for the study resulting in the Volpe Center final report entitled "Evaluation of the Intelligent Cruise Control System" approved this month for publication by the NHTSA. The Center's evaluation was based on a 1-year test of an Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system involving 108 drivers in the State of Michigan. In the letter of approval, the NHTSA sponsor praised the report for its innovative analysis, solid evaluation, and important contribution to the body of information that is becoming available on the performance of advanced technology systems. The ICC system tested automatically maintains a set time-headway with a preceding vehicle through throttle modulation and downshifting (but not braking). When traffic is encountered, ICC-equipped drivers are provided the convenience of some relief from manually engaging, disengaging, or resetting velocities, as is often the case with Conventional Cruise Control (CCC). When not in traffic, ICC functions in a manner similar to CCC. Use of the ICC system was generally associated with safer driving compared to manual control, and is projected to result in net safety benefits if widely deployed, based upon an assessment of various objective safety surrogate measures, driver perceptions, and modeling of the wide-scale deployment of ICC systems. The evaluation also addressed system performance, user acceptance, deployment issues, and impacts on the environment. The NHTSA Office of Vehicle Safety Research requested the transfer of the raw field data collected on the ICC System Evaluation Project and intends to use the data for the analysis of collision avoidance algorithms. In a related activity, a quick response analysis was performed on the ICC System Evaluation data to establish correlations between driver-response time to average vehicle deceleration. A TIE document entitled "Response Time Versus Average Vehicle Deceleration" was prepared by Mr. Koziol and Ms. Suzanne Chen of the Operation Assessment Division for the NHTSA sponsor. The analysis determined that a weak trend was evident showing slightly faster response times for higher levels of deceleration. Volpe Center Demonstrates Vessel Tracking Technology to Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and Coast Guard (SLSDC) On September 20, Messrs. Kam Chin and David Phinney of the Center for Navigation, traveled to Massena, New York, to meet with the sponsors from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and Admiral James Hull, the U.S. Coast Guard Commander of the 9th District. At the meeting, Volpe Center staff conducted a vessel- tracking demonstration using Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology. As part of the ONE DOT initiative, this technology presentation and discussion focused on the possibilities of a multimodal/user effort to create a unified vessel tracking and information system for use by all operating agencies and shippers throughout the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway System. The Volpe Center is responsible for the design and implementation of the AIS technology that will identify and track all commercial vessels on the Seaway. This technology also will enable the automatic dissemination of waterway status to Seaway users, i.e., captains and pilots. Volpe Center Provides Emergency Support to FAA Meadows Field Airport Personnel (FAA) On September 8, Mr. Erik Ferland of the Airport Surface Division traveled to the Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California to provide emergency support to FAA airport personnel in restoring service to the prototype communications system. Mr. Ferland's assistance and support were needed because this prototype system includes products that are no longer available or cannot be maintained through commercial sources. While at Meadows Field, Mr. Ferland assessed the current status of the system components in order to develop a plan to convert the system to the FAA standard fiber-optic design, within current funding constraints. The Airport Surface Division of the Volpe Center provides continuing support to the Power Systems Management Division of the FAA and the FAA regions in the design/development and implementation of fiber-optic-based communications systems for airport equipment applications. This process began with the installation of a prototype system developed by the Airport Surface Division at the Meadows Field Airport. Following the success of the Bakersfield system, additional fiber-optic systems incorporating improvements and additional features were developed for and installed at the Denver and Los Angeles International Airports. These efforts have resulted in a standardized fiber-optic cable system design for airports, which achieves high reliability by providing redundant communication paths for all FAA on-airfield systems. |
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