Volpe Center | Information Resources | Highlights

Information Resources

Volpe Center Highlights

Safety

Promote public health and safety by working toward the elimination of transportation-related deaths, injuries, and property damage.

Presentations on High-Speed Ground Transportation Safety (FRA)

Dr. Herbert Weinstock, Ms. Kris Severson, and Messrs. Dave Tyrell and Jeffrey Gordon, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division, recently participated in the International Mechanical Engineering Congress (formerly the ASME 1995 Winter Annual Meeting) in San Francisco, CA. A number of sessions at this conference included papers and discussions related to work performed by the Volpe Center in support of FRA under the High Speed Ground Transportation Safety, Rail Equipment Safety, and Track Systems Research programs. Mr. Tyrell served as vice-chairman of the session on "Occupant Protection in Transportation Systems" and he and Ms. Severson presented papers entitled, "Analysis of Occupant Protection Strategies in Train Collisions," and "Train Crashworthiness Design for Occupant Survivability." These papers are based on crashworthiness studies that the Division performed in 1994. Mr. Gordon presented a paper entitled, "Prospects For Making Carbide Free Bainitic Thick Steel Plate By Means of Controlled Quenching: A First Estimate." The paper explores manufacturing options that have the potential to permit production of better materials used for the shells of pressurized railroad tank cars, which must be strong and inexpensive, yet also easily weldable and resistant to fracture.

Results of Research on Vehicle Crashworthiness (NHTSA)

Dr. John Brewer, of the Center's Vehicle Crashworthiness Division, recently participated in the Eleventh Advanced Composites Conference, in Dearborn, MI. The conference, which was sponsored by the Engineering Society of Detroit and the Society of Automotive Engineers, addressed the latest developments in advanced composites technology for the transportation industry, including those associated with the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. Dr. Brewer presented the results of research on enhancing the tolerance to damage of bonded structures via the inclusion of physical barriers in the adhesive layer. This work is applicable to the repair of aircraft, and to the bonding of sections of highway vehicles.

Presentation of Research in Structural Integrity of Aging Airframes (FAA)

Dr. David Y. Jeong, of the Center's Vehicle Crashworthiness Division, was an invited guest speaker at the joint National Association for Corrosion Engineers/American Society for Metals annual meeting, which was recently held in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Jeong presented an overview of the Volpe Center's technical work in support of the FAA Technical Center's National Aging Aircraft Research Program. Much of the impetus for this research program stems from dramatic and publicized aviation incidents that involved the structural failure of aircraft in flight, including the inflight loss of a major portion of the fuselage of an Aloha Airlines 737 aircraft.

Professional Testimony Provided in Wake Vortex-Related Airplane Accident (FAA)

On October 12, 1995, Dr. James Hallock, chief of the Center's Aviation Safety Division, was deposed in a case involving a small aircraft [Grumman American AA-5] that crashed in Cleveland, OH in 1989. It is claimed that the wake vortices--which is the strong horizontal turbulence caused by an aircraft--from a landing B-737 caused the accident. The deposition lasted seven and a half hours and covered a detailed analysis of the accident. The trial is set for the last week of November 1995.

Center Employees Recognized for Work on Aviation Safety System (FAA)

Ms. Regina Carroll and Ms. Donna D'Alessandro recently received letters of commendation and a plaque from Mr. Tom Accardi, director of the FAA's Flight Standards Service, for their efforts on behalf of the Safety Performance Analysis System (SPAS) Program, particularly the Work Program Interface Group. This group had the task of developing operational test procedures for using SPAS in risk-based surveillance work programs. Recognized as a highly valuable tool for enhancing aviation safety, SPAS was developed by the Center to assist the FAA in identifying aviation certificate holders posing potential safety risks, and to support the planning of aviation surveillance program work elements. In addition, the system is to be used specifically to address Flight Standards risk assessment objectives.

Research to Improve the Safety of Commuter Rail Vehicle Wheels (FRA)

Under FRA's Rail Equipment Safety Program, the Volpe Center's Structures and Dynamics Division provides key technical support in efforts to improve the safety performance of commuter rail vehicle wheels. Recently, Mr. Jeffrey Gordon presented results of the Center's research in this area at the Joint Polish/U.S. Wheel Research Program Review, held at FRA offices in Washington, D.C. Mr. Gordon's presentation consisted of three topics: the origins of the problem of commuter car wheel thermal cracking, the status of the program on estimation of initial manufacturing stresses arising from rim-quenching of wheels, and a summary of the wheel residual stress estimation work being conducted at MIT.

Airport Safety Promoted Through Surface Traffic Monitoring System (FAA)

The combination of taxiing aircraft, airport vehicle traffic, and active runway traffic comprise one of the greatest challenges of ensuring airspace system safety. To help meet this challenge, the Volpe Center has supported the FAA in development of the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), the prototype of which was recently installed and demonstrated at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport. The key audience of the demonstration was FAA Associate Administrator for Research and Acquisitions George Donohue. AMASS incorporates real-time radar data and processes it, applying safety algorithms that are used to predict potential runway incursions. The data provide visual and aural alerts to air traffic controllers, warning them of possible incursions. The Center is currently evaluating the system, based in part on the inputs of controllers.

"Special Issuance" Software for Aeromedical Certification Subsystem (FAA)

The Volpe Center-developed Aeromedical Certification Subsystem (AMCS) provides PC-based software to Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs). This software accepts the contents of FAA medical certification forms, that are then validated according to Federal Aviation Regulation standards, encrypted, and electronically transmitted by the AME to the FAA's Aeromedical Certification Division. At this division, the transmitted exams are decrypted and inserted into the AMCS Host database. The AMCS has been operational since October 1, 1992, receiving and processing FAA aviation medical certification data. An average of 7,000 exams are transmitted by well over 600 AMEs every month. Release 2.0 of "Special Issuance Software" was recently installed at the FAA in Oklahoma City, OK. This release included a data entry capability for cardiac devices (pacemaker, valves, etc.), which a pilot may be using under special issuance of his or her medical certificate for flying.

Using Information Systems to Enhance Pipeline Safety Efforts (RSPA)

RSPA's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) receives NTSB recommendations and must provide an initial response describing how they plan to address each recommendation. To support this, the Center's Planning Methods Division has developed a prototype database to track the actions proposed by OPS to address an NTSB recommendation, NTSB's response to the proposed actions, and the communication between OPS and NTSB as they work to reach a satisfactory resolution. The Volpe Center-developed prototype, which was recently demonstrated, is based on Lotus Notes and tracks the correspondence for each recommendation until a satisfactory resolution is reached. Open NTSB recommendations will be preloaded and the prototype will be released for an operational test in mid-November of this year.