Can active safety
be used to lightweight?
Alex Pawlowski
slides.com/alexpawlowski/active-safety-lightweighting-review
CE 595: Intelligent Transportation Systems
1 October 2015
A Focus on ITS Technologies
problem background
-
Passive safety includes technologies
that increase the survivability of the
occupants when in a crash -
Active safety includes technologies
that reduce the likelihood and/or
severity of a crash- Various levels:
- hazard mitigation
- hazard detection
- hazard avoidance
- Various levels:
- If active safety can reduce accidents, do we need as much passive safety elements?
- Corollary: Could vehicle fuel economy
increase with reduction of passive
safety elements?
- Corollary: Could vehicle fuel economy
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
- Passive Safety
- With improved crash structures across the vehicle fleet, all but the smallest vehicles have no statistically significant decrease in crash worthiness from weight reduction
- Active Safety
- Electronic Safety Control (mandatory by 2017) will reduce the fraction of fatalities in rollovers and crashes, shifting accident risk in light trucks
ITS SOLUTIONS IN LIT.
- Infrastructure
- Automated camera-based detection system to warn drivers of oncoming traffic with road-side VMS could reduce a risk of a crash by nearly 30%
Gaps
- Literature in reducing the risk of incidents from active safety systems is separate from research into increasing occupant survivability
- this paper looks to tie those together from the perspective of ITS
- Vehicle weight gain from passive safety elements is not as well quantified or placed in one review
Plan
- Focus of paper has to be on ITS technologies to understand active safety's potential
- Jun commented that an Advanced Warning System could be looked at for light / small vehicle to address enhanced accident severity
- Discussion with Andreas Malikopolous Friday on connected vehicle technologies
- Conversation with IIHS
Plans for ITS Project: Can active safety reduce vehicle weight?
By Alex Pawlowski
Plans for ITS Project: Can active safety reduce vehicle weight?
Here's a brief intro on a paper concept that I am working on in the Intelligent Transportation Systems arena. Passive safety elements have been added over time to reduce crash injuries and fatalities at the expense of increased vehicle weight. With increased demands of fuel economy pushing automakers to look at all opportunities to reduce vehicle weight, can an appreciable change in vehicle weight be found by moving from passive safety to active safety? This is a little primer to start looking. Comments / suggestions are welcome and key.
