Key Human Factors of Vehicle Interior Occupant Packaging in SAE Standard

Fourteen SAE standards related to accommodation and occupant＇ packaging for vehicle interior are studied. The influencing factors, key reference accommodation points and major design dimensions and their relationships of occupant packaging and ergonomics during the vehicle interior layout design and development are analyzed. Prototypes are presented to verify the results and how to achieve the packaging is shown. Auto- mobile designers can achieve significant practical guidance for human safety, efficiency accommodation and occupant packaging of all passengers during the vehicle design process.

Simulation of Restraint System Performance upon the Occupant's Response During Impact

Aim To study the influence of restraint system performance upon the occupant's response during impact, and provide a scientific base for occupant restraint system design. Methods \ In the light of basic theory of multibody system dynamics and impact dynamics on the basis of classical theory of impact, R W method is adopted to construct the vehicle occupant system model consisting of fourteen rigid bodies, thirty seven DOFs and slip joints for the simulation. A software named SVC3D(3 dimensional simulation of vehicle crash) is developed in the FORTRAN language. Results\ The results of simulation have a good coincidence with those of tests and the restraint system with low elongation webbing and equipped with pretensioner provides better restraint effect for the occupant. Conclusion\ The model of vehicle occupant multibody system and SVC3D are suitable for use. Occupant should be belted with low elongation webbing to a certain degree and occupant restraint system should be equipped with pretensioner.

Collision mitigation and vehicle transportation safety using integrated vehicle dynamics control systems

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of vehicle dynamics control systems （VDCS） on both the collision of the vehicle body and the kinematic behaviour of the ve- hicle＇s occupant in case of offset frontal vehicle-to-vehicle collision. A unique 6-degree-of- freedom （6-DOF） vehicle dynamics/crash mathematical model and a simplified lumped mass occupant model are developed. The first model is used to define the vehicle body crash parameters and it integrates a vehicle dynamics model with a vehicle front-end structure model. The second model aims to predict the effect of VDCS on the kinematics of the occupant. It is shown from the numerical simulations that the vehicle dynamics/crash response and occupant behaviour can be captured and analysed quickly and accurately. Yurthermore, it is shown that the VDCS can affect the crash characteristics positively and the occupant behaviour is improved.

Estimating commute-travel implications of telecommuting by female employees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A number of Malaysian cities are experiencing severe traffic congestion resulting from rapidly increasing vehicle ownership and usage, and the insufficient supply and inferior quality of public transport. The trend of congestion, frequent traffic accidents and air pollution is nowhere more prevalent in Kuala Lumpur where telecommuting is increasingly being perceived as a viable travel demand management strategy. Due to a number of unique travel characteristics of female commuters and the relatively large participation rate of women in the Malaysian work force, telecommuting by female employees seems a more relevant and potentially more crucial means of alleviating rush hour traffic in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area. The aim of this study is to estimate both the potential and actual travel implications of telecommuting by female employees. Therefore, this study is exploratory in nature as it mainly aims to explore the influence of the propagation of a phenomenon（i.e., telecommuting among female employees in Kuala Lumpur） on travel demand, and is thus mainly a quantitative research. The travel implications estimated in this paper include the reduction in commute trips, with a particular emphasis on the reduction in single occupancy vehicles（SOVs） entering the city of Kuala Lumpur during peak hours; vehicle and passenger-kilometers forgone; and time savings as a result of the elimination of the daily commute. The findings clearly show the potential of substantial reduction in vehicle and passenger-kilometers travelled, as well as potential time savings of more than 7000 employee-hours/day under an optimal adoption scenario. Furthermore,telecommuting by female employees could potentially result in a daily reduction of up to 7.8% of all SOVs entering Kuala Lumpur in 2019; however, there is a large gap between that potential reduction and the maximum actual reduction of 0.96%.