Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Accident investigation'

The aim of the research project is to investigate the veracity of negative criticisms of supervisors' accident investigations by using the generalised time sequence model as the analytical tool to evaluate the data recorded in a convenience sample of supervisors' accident investigation report forms.
Master of Applied Science

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2000.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 58 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45).

Crashworthiness can be defined as the ability of the airplane in protecting its occupants in crash situations. This concept is only applicable in accidents that are survivable, that is, accidents for which the decelerations peaks are into human tolerance limits. There is na international concern about flight safety, because statistics show that the number of accidents per flight departures hás been Constant since 1975 despite the associated efforts in technology and crew training. Then, assuming this scenario of constant accident rate, the form found by researchers, manufacturers and authorities to protect the passengers in the accidents hás been to invest in the aircraft protection capability. A crashworthiness accident investigation can recover information about the aircraft behavior submitted by impact, and can supply the design team with the necessary information in case of a redesign that seeks safety improvement. This work proposes a crashworthiness investigation checklist that is structured according to the methodology presented by National Transportation Safety Board, and the goal is to establish investigative techniques that can facilitate the collection and analysis of crashworthiness data for accidents occurring in commercial aviation.

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of unsignalised intersection geometry on the rates of the various types of accidents occurring at unsignalised intersections. A literature review has identified that there is little consistency between the results of previous studies. Some studies found that particular parameters had an opposite effect to what was expected. With this in mind, the research identified reasons for these results and developed two basic approaches to mitigate some of the problems with multi-factor type studies. These approaches are 'maximise the efficiency of data collection' and 'develop techniques for analysing less than perfect data'. A database consisting of 206 unsignalised intersection sites from throughout Queensland was used for analysis. The outcome of this research confirms the validity of several of the current design standards for unsignalised intersections, in addition to identifying new engineering procedures.

In order to prevent accidents we need to understand them, this is achieved through effective accident investigation. Accident investigation is a complex process of gathering and evaluating information to determine factors that may have implications on the final event. One of the fundamental aspects in the investigation process is to capture geospatial data of the incident, to document the scene in its current condition, providing the investigation team with a record for future reference. The production of plans have conventionally remained the same, with a surveyor tasked to illustrate a 3D scene with 2D representations. Recent developments in instrumentation have provided the geospatial industry with the means to capture vast amounts of 3D data directly using laser scanning. In addition, there have been considerable advancements in software applications which can be used to process the surveyed datasets. This research evaluates the use of the latest technology in respect of accident investigation applying the methodology to fire related incidents, industrial accidents and mining incidents. This is achieved by using a number of case studies that have been undertaken throughout the timeline of the project and whilst working with industry professionals in the field.

Objetivos. Analisar investigações de acidentes e materiais didáticos e educativos, explorando aspectos da construção das análises e de atribuição de culpa. Métodos. Registros de investigações e materiais didáticos de empresas de Botucatu-SP, em 1997, obtidos de instituições e empresas, foram analisados, identificando-se fatores causais, recomendações e referências a comportamentos faltosos ou características da vítima. Árvores de causas foram checadas quanto a cuidados de linguagem, desenhos, interrupções da investigação, tipos de relações entre fatos e exploração para prevenção. Materiais educativos foram analisados, identificando-se concepções de acidente, orientações para investigações e recomendações. Bancos de dados foram formados e gerenciados com EPIinfo. Resultados. Foram analisadas 203 investigações. A média de “causas” por AT foi 1,68 e a de recomendações foi 1,4 por AT, com predomínio de referências a comportamentos ou características da vítima. A maioria das análises baseava-se em formulário obrigatório. Todas as árvores analisadas mostravam desrespeito flagrante a regras e princípios do método. Materiais didáticos veiculavam mesma concepção de acidente das investigações, método de análise centrado em comportamentos faltosos do operador, estímulo ao medo de lesões e recomendações para obediência a regras e uso de equipamentos de proteção. Conclusão. As investigações adotam concepção de acidente baseada na identificação de situações de desrespeito a regras idealizadas, atribuem culpa ao acidentado e não subsidiam a gestão de riscos nas empresas. A atribuição de culpa ocorre independentemente da natureza e/ou tipo de perigo presente nos acidentes. Tentativas de uso do método de árvore de causas mostraram distorções, revelando insuficiência no seu domínio. A construção da culpa foi reforçada por materiais didáticos e educativos. Descritores: Acidentes do trabalho, investigações de acidentes, vigilância de acidentes.
Objectives: To analyze accident investigations and teaching and educational materials exploring aspects of analysis construction and blame attribution. Methods: Investigation reports and educational materials of companies in Botucatu, SP, in 1997, obtained from institutions and companies were analyzed and causal factors, recommendations and references to faulty behavior or victim characteristics were identified. Causal tree were checked in regard to language, design, investigation interruptions, types of relations between facts and exploration for prevention. Educational materials were analyzed identifying the conception of accident, orientation for investigations and recommendation. Data banks were formed and managed by EPIinfo. Results: 203 investigations with an average of 1,68 causes and 1,4 recommendations were analyzed and revealed that references to victim’s behavior or characteristics prevailed. Most analyses were based on an obligatory form. All analyzed trees showed evident disrespect to rules and methodological principles. The educational and teaching materials convey the same accident concept as the investigations, the analyses method centered in the faulty behavior of the operator, stimulus of fear to injury and recommendation for obedience to rules and use of protection equipment. Conclusion: The investigations studied use an accident concept based on the identification of situations of disrespect to idealized rules, blame the injured subjects, and do not support the risk management in the companies. The blame bias occurs independently of the nature or kind of danger involved in the accidents. The attempts to use the causal tree method revealed distortions due to insufficient command. Educational materials strengthened the construction of blame.

This project examines the safety management of civil aircraft accident investigation authorities in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Member States, with particular emphasis on the independence of the investigations. The research aims to establish the current level of resources and methodology adopted by Member States’ accident investigation authorities. The output of this work not only identifies the current situation but informs initiatives for some of the States in the process of establishing their investigation capability. ICAO Annex 13 was analysed and found to be based on the principle of independent accident investigations. Also, a four dimensional measuring index (4DMI) has been developed to measure the independence of accident investigations in ICAO Member States. Data were collected from 45 States and are presented in the thesis. As a result of applying the 4DMI to the collected data, the States were ranked according to their scores, and divided into four categories of independence. Analysis of the four categories and the scores from the four dimensions revealed that States approach the concept of investigation independence in different ways; however, there are several practices that are common within the highest independence category and several other practices that are common within the lowest independence category. The research recommends that States should work towards improving their overall investigation independence by implementing the seven identified practices in the High-Independence category and distance themselves from the five practices identified as common in the Low-Independence category.

Робота публікується згідно наказу ректора від 21.01.2020 р. №008/од "Про перевірку кваліфікаційних робіт на академічний плагіат 2019-2020р.р. навчальному році ". Керівник проекту: д.т.н., проф. Харченко Володимир Петрович
Civil aviation is a strategic priority of geopolitical, social and economic development of Ukraine and an important part of production and social infrastructure. Its sustainable, efficient operation is a necessary condition for national security, sustainable economic growth and improving living standards. With the beginning of the restructuring of economic relations, the volume of aviation activity in Ukraine has decreased significantly. The financial situation of aviation enterprises has become more complicated. It has led to a reduction in the development and improvement of civil aviation, and led not only to a slowdown in scientific and technological progress, but also to a deterioration in its technical condition. The fashion for the creation of "independent structural units" within enterprises and the industry as a whole in search of economic benefit has pushed to the background the issue of flight safety. Annual, long-term structural reorganizations with the Aviation Administration of Ukraine do not allow effective and efficient management. The predominant interests of "commerce" lead to the widespread use of strictly prohibited methods: the irreversible process of deconstruction aircraft and rearranging units, engines and equipment from one aircraft to another, extending the resources of aircraft without a proper assessment of its condition which inevitably leads to complete lack of control on the part of the Aviation Administration of Ukraine. It indicates that the level of flight safety in the air navigation system of Ukraine is not provided. A number of problems in safety theory are caused by imperfect methods of scientific research, in particular, when planning airspace.
Цивільна авіація є стратегічним пріоритетом геополітичного, соціального та економічного розвитку України та важливою частиною виробничої та соціальної інфраструктури. Його стійке, ефективне функціонування є необхідною умовою національної безпеки, стійкого економічного зростання та підвищення рівня життя. З початком перебудови економічних відносин обсяг авіаційної діяльності в Україні значно зменшився. Фінансовий стан авіаційних підприємств ускладнився. Це призвело до зменшення розвитку та вдосконалення цивільної авіації та призвело не лише до уповільнення науково-технічного прогресу, але й до погіршення її технічного стану. Мода на створення "самостійних структурних підрозділів" на підприємствах та в цілому в галузі в пошуках економічної вигоди відсунула на другий план питання безпеки польотів. Щорічні, довгострокові структурні реорганізації з Авіаційною адміністрацією України не дозволяють ефективно і результативно керувати. Переважаючі інтереси "торгівлі" призводять до широкого використання суворо заборонених методів: незворотний процес деконструкції літаків та перестановка агрегатів, двигунів та обладнання з одного літака на інший, розширення ресурсів літака без належної оцінки його стану, що неминуче призводить до повної відсутності контролю з боку авіаційного управління України. Це свідчить про те, що рівень безпеки польотів в аеронавігаційній системі України не забезпечується. Ряд проблем в теорії безпеки спричинений недосконалими методами наукових досліджень, зокрема, при плануванні повітряного простору.

The expenditures resulting from work accidents is increasing every year. Among the other work accidents, mine accidents result important loss of time, money and lives. From the point of view of mine accidents, studies about cost of mine accidents need some contributions. In this thesis, cost of mine accidents to worker, employer, and total economy of country will be analysed in the light of data from Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Social Insurance Institution, and Tü
rkiye Coal Enterprises. General Analysis is carried out within all industrial sectors, Mining sector, and Coal Mining sector. Detailed analysis is carried out within Western Lignite Company (GLi). Occupational accidents have vital importance for the mines from legal, human and economic aspects. The goal of every mine should be to minimize occupational accidents. The top management of every mine should prove their commitments to the occupational health and safety policy to carry out this goal by means of preparing and implementing an accident preventing program.

In conformity with the principles laid down in article 26 of the Chicago Convention and its Annex 13 concerning technical aircraft accident investigations, the United States and France respectively set up and developed their own investigation Boards, the NTSB and the BEA, which may be different by their organization and functioning but both aim at the same objective: the promotion of Air Safety.
To fulfil their complex mission in the best possible conditions and despite eventual pecuniary constraints, the pressure of the media, or the occasional tensions which may arise in case of concomitance with other investigations, the NTSB and the BEA rely on the renowned professionalism and high technical skills of their employees as well as on the participation in the investigation of members of the aeronautical industry who bring their expertise and contribute to the improvement of air safety.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the international regime governing aircraft accident investigation while focusing on its various shortcomings and weaknesses.
Weakened by the international legal nature of the Chicago Convention and by limitations voluntarily inflicted by its authors, Article 26 of the Convention and Annex 13 are unable to offer aircraft accident investigation a sufficient basis for a reliable and unified legal regime.
Consequently, the questions pertaining to accident investigation are regulated by the various domestic laws, which leads to unavoidable conflicts of interests and tends to ruin the effort of co-operation.
Although envisaged under a bilateral or regional form, a global approach to safety of civil aviation should be favoured to solve these conflicts and strengthen the current legal regime. Such international co-operation seems to stand better chances of achievement within the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Human Factors (HF) has long been identified as one of the main causes of incidents and accidents in the transportation industry, and more recently has become increasingly important in air accident investigation and safety improvement. As a result, many National Investigation Agencies (NIAs) are now explicitly acknowledging HF in their final investigation reports. Whereas engineering-and operations-led investigation can highlight what happened and how it occurred, it is increasingly recognised that the integration of HF into an investigation can help understand why a sequence of events led to an incident or accident. However, there are considerable challenges to more thorough integration of HF into air accident investigations. Most notably, there remains a reluctance amongst some NIAs to fully embrace HF and address potentially important HF issues in detail in their investigations. Consequently, there is a risk that some investigations are consistently overlooking potentially critical HF issues, and as a result fail to fully address why an incident or accident occurred. There is a need for research that examines these challenges, including the possible gap that exists between research and industry regarding the development and applicability of accident analysis tools, and that provides practical solutions to enable a better integration of HF in air accident investigations ... [cont.].

The investigation and modelling of aviation accident causation is dominated by linear models. Aviation is, however, a complex system and as such suffers from being artificially manipulated into non-complex models and methods. This thesis addresses this issue by developing a new approach to investigating aviation accident causation through information networks. These networks centralise communication and the flow of information as key indicators of a system‟s health and risk. The holistic approach focuses on the system itself rather than any individual event. The activity and communication of constituent elements, both human and non-human agents, within that system is identified and highlights areas of system failure. The model offers many potential developments and some key areas are studied in this research. Through the centralisation of barriers and information nodes the method can be applied to almost any situation. The application of Bayesian mathematics to historical data populations provides scope for studying error migration and barrier manipulation. The thesis also provides application of these predictions to a flight simulator study in an attempt of validation. Beyond this the thesis also discusses the applicability of the approach to industry. Through working with a legacy airline the methods discussed are used as the basis for a new and forward-thinking safety management system. This holistic approach focuses on the system environment, the activity that takes place within it, the strategies used to conduct this activity, the way in which the constituent parts of the system (both human and non-human) interact and the behaviour required. Each stage of this thesis identifies and expands upon the potential of the information network approach maintaining firm focus on the overall health of a system. It is contended that through the further development and application of this approach, understanding of aviation risk can be improved.

The United Kingdom (UK) construction industry is one of the worst industries in the UK in terms of health and safety (H&S) performance. Numerous injuries, deaths, dangerous occurrences and work related illnesses are reported annually in the industry, and these are associated with huge economic and social costs which make the need for H&S improvement inevitable. The pursuit of improvement has triggered studies into construction accident causation which have emphasised the need to pay attention to underlying accident causal factors which emanate from the pre-construction stage in order to have sustained improvement in H&S. Construction project features (CPFs), such as nature of project, method of construction, site restriction, procurement method, project duration, level of construction, design complexity, and subcontracting, which are organisational, physical, and operational characteristics of projects emanating from pre-construction decisions fall in this category of underlying causal factors. However, despite the significance of underlying causal factors to H&S, not much attention by way of research has been given to CPFs. As a result, insight into how CPFs influence accident occurrence, the degree of their inherent potential to influence accident occurrence (i.e. their potential to cause accident) and their associated degree of H&S risk (i.e. the likelihood of accident occurrence due to CPFs) remain elusive in the extant construction H&S literature. This research was thus undertaken to empirically investigate the mechanism by which CPFs influence accident occurrence and assess their degree of potential to influence accident occurrence and their associated H&S risk. Adopting a mixed method approach, the accident causal influence of CPFs was investigated. Following a conceptualisation of how CPFs influence accident occurrence based on systems models of accident causation, a qualitative inquiry involving semi-structured interviews with experienced construction professionals was undertaken to provide empirical verification of the conceptualised view. Subsequent to the qualitative inquiry, a questionnaire survey was undertaken to elicit relevant data from experienced professionals in construction management roles to enable the assessment of the degree of potential of CPFs to influence accident occurrence and their associated H&S risk. From the analysis of data, it was found that CPFs, emanating from pre-construction decisions, influence accident occurrence by their inherent introduction of certain associated H&S issues (which can be termed as proximal accident factors) into the construction phase of projects to give rise to accidents. There are also causal interactions between CPFs and the proximal factors which can reduce or increase the presence of proximal factors. CPFs have varying degrees of potential to influence accident occurrence which can generally be high or moderate and is influenced by: the extent to which their proximal factor(s) is common (in other words prevalent) within them; and the degree of potential of the proximal factor(s) to influence accident occurrence. Where CPFs apply on a project, they are generally associated with medium risk or high risk. Whereas with medium-risk CPFs some risk control measures would suffice in mitigating risk, with high-risk CPFs substantial measures are required. As a consolidation of the research findings, a toolkit, called CRiMT, has been developed. CRiMT provides H&S risk information regarding CPFs and it has the potential of assisting pre-construction project participants in managing the accident causal influence of CPFs from the early stage of project procurement. In view of the findings, the accident causal influence of CPFs should thus not be ignored or underestimated in construction project delivery. Pre-construction project participants, especially those whose decisions determine CPFs, ought to take into consideration the H&S effects of CPFs when making decisions which determine CPFs. Also, pre-construction project participants ought to plan and implement commensurate risk control measures in the early stage of projects to eliminate or mitigate the H&S risk posed by CPFs.

A database of 10 years' worth of medical incident data gathered in an Edinburgh Intensive Care Unit was analyzed using the proposed cognitive error analysis approach. In the second live case study, the error analysis approach was evaluated in the field by applying it to incident reporting data that was collected with a newly implemented incident reporting scheme in a Glasgow Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The insights gained by analyzing the Edinburgh incident scheme were used to inform the design and implementation of the Glasgow incident scheme as part of the unit's existing safety management. Since both were local incident reporting schemes, it was seen as an important factor for its success to take the local context and conditions into account while situating the cognitive error analysis approach as part of these hospitals' safety management strategies. The evaluation of this incident reporting and analysis framework demonstrated the benefits of a structured, psychological “human error” analysis approach that centres on the human aspect of the incident, without isolating it from its context. It is argued that not only could the understanding of the underlying error mechanisms be improved for individual incidents, but the generation of safety recommendations could be supported, and these could then also be evaluated as to their impact on the human "in the loop". The resulting error analysis models could further be used as basis for comparing competing analyses, and also improve analysis traceability by documenting the analysis process and its resulting safety recommendations. Further work is needed in providing "best practices" for the application of the cognitive analytical framework. Further work is also needed in formalizing a way to situate the cognitive error analysis approach within the investigation of local work system factors in the search for the overall incident and accident causation. This thesis aims at demonstrating the benefits of grounding the analysis of human error as part of incident and accident reporting in a cognitive theoretical framework. This will provide the means and the vocabulary to reason about alternative causal hypotheses while also acting as a tool to document and communicate the psychological analysis of human error and its resulting safety recommendations. This approach is proposed as complementing the analysis of human error data by means of error taxonomies grounded in psychological theory.

[EN] In case of a severe accident in a NPP fission products are released from the degraded fuel and may reach the environment if their confinement is lost and/or bypassed. Given the high radio-toxic nature of nuclear aerosols for environment and population, their unrestricted release should be absolutely avoided. One particular situation is the core meltdown sequence with steam generator tube rupture (SGTR). The containment bypass turns this sequence into an indispensable scenario to model when assessing PWR risk. As a result, a significant database on the aerosol behavior in the secondary side of the steam generator (SG) has been developed within the international projects EU-SGTR, ARTIST and ARTIST-2. The role played by the break stage is particularly significant since it might be responsible for a good fraction of the total mass retained and for the shift of the particle size distribution towards smaller diameters. This awoke the interest in the effect of variables such as the particle nature, the breach type (size and shape) and the tubes vibration on the particle retention within the breach stage of a dry steam generator. Those aspects have been experimentally investigated in the first part of this thesis. Two experimental campaigns, CAAT2 and SET, were conducted in order to explore the potential influence of the particle nature on their retention. Moreover, the effect of the breach size and shape has been investigated in the CAAT2 campaign while the SET experiments were devoted to the tube vibration characterization and the effect of the vibration on the particle retention. The tests conducted highlighted several key insights: the strong effect of particle nature in the secondary side capability to scrub the particle-laden gas; the confirmation of the high retention efficiency when using compact particles and the significant one when using agglomerates; the similarities between guillotine and fish-mouth breaches in terms of efficiency, but their noticeable different deposition patterns; and the secondary effect of the breach size. Finally, the tube vibration is not as significant as the particle nature effect on the net deposition. The second part of the thesis is focused on the fraction of particles susceptible of leaving the containment in case of a severe accident regardless of the SGTR sequence. Accidents like Fukushima highlighted the importance of relying on efficient mitigation systems capable of reducing any release to the environment as much as possible. Although many reactors worldwide had installed filtered containment venting systems (FCVS) the interest in FCVS and even other mitigation systems has become of outstanding importance in nuclear safety. This is the frame of the PASSAM project in which an experimental sound database is being built to explore potential enhancement of existing source term mitigation devices and demonstrate the ability of innovative systems to achieve even larger source term attenuation. As a matter of fact, particle agglomeration processes via the propagation of acoustic vibrations through a gas could be applied for a better decontamination. High-intensity acoustic fields applied to an aerosol induce interaction effects among suspended particles, giving rise to successive collisions and agglomerations, resulting in larger particles that can be more easily removed or precipitated. The mitigative system acoustic agglomerator was built-up and tested in the AAA experimental campaign. The tests were conducted under a constant ultrasonic field with aerosols of different nature and size with different gas mass flow rates. The results pointed out two main insights: the small acoustic-agglomeration effect and the key effect of the gas mass flow rate and the aggregation state of the former particles in the agglomeration process. This research is the first approximation on the application of the ultrasonic chamber as an innovative system for the source term mitigation.
[ES] Durante un accidente severo en una central nuclear los productos de fisión liberados como consecuencia de la degradación del combustible podrían llegar a la atmósfera si se pierde la hermeticidad de la contención o si encuentran vías alternativas (bypass) para salir. Dada la radio-toxicidad del término fuente, las centrales nucleares deben contar con medios y medidas técnicas de seguridad para contener estos productos. En un reactor PWR, un caso particular de secuencia accidental donde los productos de fisión tienen acceso directo a la atmósfera, es aquella en el que además de la fusión de núcleo existe rotura de tubos del generador de vapor (secuencia SGTR). En este caso, es de vital importancia la evaluación del riesgo del suceso, objetivo de los proyectos internacionales EU-SGTR, ARTIST y ARTIST-2. Particularmente significativa es la "etapa de rotura" (break stage) del generador de vapor (SG), que es responsable de la retención de una fracción importante de partículas y de la evolución de su distribución a tamaños más pequeños. Estos motivos despertaron el interés hacia la propia retención de las partículas sobre los tubos y el efecto de variables como la naturaleza de la partícula, el tipo de rotura y la vibración de tubos sobre la retención en la etapa de rotura en condiciones secas; aspectos en los que se centra la primera parte de esta tesis. Con el objetivo de estudiar las cuestiones señaladas se han llevado a cabo dos campañas experimentales, CAAT2 y SET, con materiales enmarcados en el posible espectro de los aerosoles nucleares. La primera de ellas se centró en explorar la influencia potencial de la naturaleza de la partícula y el efecto del tipo de rotura de los tubos (forma y tamaño) sobre la retención de aerosoles. La segunda concierne la caracterización de la vibración de los tubos y el estudio de su efecto en la eficiencia de retención de partículas. Las pruebas realizadas resaltan varias ideas clave: el fuerte efecto de la naturaleza de la partícula sobre la retención en el lado secundario del SG; la alta eficiencia de retención cuando las partículas son compactas y la significativa retención cuando están aglomeradas; las pequeñas diferencias en eficiencia neta entre distintos tipos de rotura (guillotina vs. boca de pez) que resultan notables sobre los patrones de deposición, y el efecto secundario del tamaño de la rotura. Finalmente los resultados revelaron que frente a la naturaleza de la partícula, la vibración de tubos juega un papel secundario en la eficiencia de la retención. La segunda parte de este trabajo se centra en la fracción de partículas que es susceptible de alcanzar la contención en caso de accidente severo. Accidentes como el de Fukushima ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de tecnologías capaces de evitar las indeseadas consecuencias de la emisión de material radiactivo al medio ambiente. Esta es la dirección de investigación del proyecto PASSAM (7º Programa Marco de EURATOM) que está construyendo una base de datos experimental para el desarrollo de sistemas innovadores y la mejora de los sistemas de venteo filtrado de la contención que ya existen. Entre estos sistemas se encuentran las cámaras de ultrasonidos donde las ondas acústicas facilitan la aglomeración y el crecimiento de partículas, resultando sistemas potenciales para su mitigación. La campaña experimental AAA ha constituido una primera aproximación para la aplicación de las cámaras de ultrasonidos como sistemas innovadores para la mitigación del término fuente en la contención. El sistema de mitigación de aglomeración acústica (MSAA) se construyó y ha sido probado durante los experimentos AAA. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto el leve efecto del campo acústico sobre el crecimiento de las partículas. Además, tanto el flujo másico de gas portador como la naturaleza de la partícula son claves en el proceso de aglomeración.
[CAT] En cas d'accident sever d'una central nuclear els productes de fissió resultants del combustible degradat podrien assolir l'atmosfera si es perd la hermeticitat de la contenció o si troben un camí alternatiu que l'evitin. Donada la naturalesa radio-tòxica dels aerosols nuclears ha d'evitar-se per tots els mitjans que surtin a l'exterior. En un reactor PWR, un cas particular d'accident és en el qual a més de la fusió de nucli existeix trencament de tubs del generador de vapor. En aquest cas, l'alliberament de material radioactiu cap al medi ambient fa que l'escenari sigui indispensable de modelar en l'avaluació del risc d'aquest reactor. Aquesta és la raó dels projectes internacionals EU-SGTR, ARTIST i ARTIST-2, gràcies als quals s'ha construït una extensa base de dades sobre el comportament dels aerosols en el circuit secundari del generador de vapor (Steam Generator, SG). Particularment significativa és l'etapa de trencament, que és responsable de la retenció d'una fracció important de partícules i de modificar la seva distribució cap a les mides més petites. Aquests motius van despertar l'interès vers l'efecte de variables com la naturalesa de la partícula, el tipus de trencament i la vibració de tubs sobre la retenció de partícules sobre els tubs en condicions seques a l'etapa de trencament del SG. Aquests són els aspectes en els quals es centra la primera part d'aquesta tesi. Dues campanyes experimentals, CAAT2 i SET, s'han dut a terme amb diferents materials, tots ells emmarcats dins del possible rang dels aerosols nuclears. La primera d'elles es va centrar a explorar la influència potencial de la naturalesa de la partícula i l'efecte del tipus de trencament (forma i grandària) sobre la retenció d'aerosols en els tubs. La segona va seguir per la caracterització en termes de vibració dels tubs i el seu efecte en l'eficiència de retenció de partícules. Les proves realitzades ressalten diverses idees clau: el fort efecte de la naturalesa de la partícula sobre la retenció en el costat secundari del SG; l'alta eficiència de retenció quan les partícules són compactes i la també significativa retenció quan són aglomerats; les petites diferències en eficiència entre diferents tipus de trencament (guillotina vs. boca de peix), però notables sobre els patrons de deposició, i l'efecte secundari de la grandària de trencament. Finalment van revelar que enfront de la naturalesa de la partícula, la vibració de tubs juga un paper secundari en l'eficiència de retenció del feix de tubs. La segona part d'aquesta tesi es centra en la fracció de partícules que en cas d'accident sever, amb o sense seqüència SGTR, és susceptible d'aconseguir la contenció. Accidents com Fukushima posen de manifest la necessitat de tecnologia capaç de cobrir les indesitjades conseqüències de l'emissió de material radioactiu al medi. Aquesta és la raó del projecte PASSAM (7é Programa Marc d'EURATOM) que està construint una base de dades experimental per al desenvolupament de sistemes innovadors i millorar els sistemes de venteig filtrat que ja existeixen de la contenció. Les ones d'ultrasons faciliten l'aglomeració de partícules i resulten sistemes potencials per a la seva mitigació. S'ha realitzat una primera aproximació per a l'aplicació de les càmeres d'ultrasons com a sistemes innovadors per a la mitigació del terme font en la contenció. El sistema de mitigació d'aglomeració acústica (MSAA) es va construir i ha estat provat durant la campanya experimental AAA. Els experiments duts a terme en la planta PECA-MSAA del LASS. Els resultats obtinguts posen de manifest dues idees: el sistema MSAA és efectiu en la reducció de la massa de partícules i tant el flux màssic de gas portador com la naturalesa de la partícula són claus en l'eficiència de retenció del sistema.
Delgado Tardáguila, R. (2016). Experimental investigations on nuclear aerosols in a severe accident [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/63243
TESIS

Kommuner har en unik position i säkerhetsarbetet genom att vara nära både medborgarna och de olyckor och skador som drabbar befolkningen. Trots långtgående framsteg inom teknologi och ett etablerat välfärdssamhälle utgör personskador till följd av olyckor ett betydande folkhälsoproblem i Sverige liksom i övriga nordiska länder. De svenska kommunerna har ålagts ett vidsträckt ansvar och förväntas vidta åtgärder inom flera samhällsområden för att värna människornas trygghet och säkerhet. De senaste två decennierna har utvecklingen i allt högre grad inneburit olika former av systematiskt och tvärsektoriellt säkerhetsarbete i kommunerna. I detta arbete används olika verktyg och metoder som hjälpmedel och stöd. Vissa verktyg är obligatoriska att använda enligt lagstiftning medan andra är frivilliga. Denna uppsats syftar till att kartlägga kommunernas användning av några av dessa säkerhetsverktyg, samt att för ett av verktygen – olycksutredning – undersöka i vilken utsträckning några särskilda utredningsmetoder förmår stödja den samlade praktiska hantering som en olycksutredning innebär. Uppsatsen bygger på två delarbeten, varav det ena är publicerat i en internationell vetenskaplig tidskrift och det andra är inskickat för bedömning till en annan tidskrift. Artikel I bygger på en enkätstudie till 1283 tjänstemän i 73 kommuner. En fråga handlade om användningen av 16 olika säkerhetsverktyg. Denna fråga besvarades av 50 % av de tillfrågade personerna. Resultaten tyder på att verktygen skyddsrond, riskanalys och riskinventering hade utbredd användning i samtliga sektorer medan övriga verktyg användes begränsat inom vissa sektorer eller nästan inte alls. Artikel II studerar hur olika olycksutredningsmetoder stödjer den praktiska utredningsprocessen. Analysen grundas i en processmodell särskilt framtagen för utvärdering av metoderna. Slutsatserna stöds av data från 114 tester av sådana metoder i kursen Kvalificerad olycksutredningsmetodik vid Karlstads universitet. Över 170 kursdeltagare från olika branscher har medverkat i testerna, som en del i undervisningen. Resultaten visar att bland de bedömda metoderna så är det endast metoderna Avvikelseutredning och STEP som ger ett bra stöd i hela utredningsprocessen. Övriga metoder stödjer huvudsakligen endast själva analysdelen i en olycksutredning. De sammanfattande slutsatserna visar att kommunerna använder sig av verktyg i sitt säkerhetsarbete, men att endast ett fåtal av verktygen används brett i alla kommunsektorer. Bland de undersökta metoderna för verktyget olycksutredning konstateras att det finns stora skillnader i hur dessa stödjer utredningsprocessen. Flera metoder borde kanske snarare benämnas olycksanalysmetoder, istället för olycksutredningsmetoder, då de främst ger stöd för själva analysdelen i utredningsarbetet.
Municipalities have a unique position in safety work by being close to both the citizens and the accidents and injuries that affect the population. Despite far-reaching advances in technology and an established welfare state, injuries resulting from accidents constitute a significant public health problem in Sweden as well as in other Nordic countries. Swedish municipalities are subjected to wide-ranging responsibilities and are expected to take action in a number of societal areas to safeguard people's safety and security. The last two decades are increasingly characterized by systematic and cross-sectorial safety work of various forms in municipalities. In this endeavor a variety of tools and methods intended to aid and support safety work have been introduced. Some tools are required by law while others are optional. This thesis aims to identify to what extent local authorities utilize a number of these safety tools, and secondly to examine whether a set of particular methods aimed to guide one of the tools – accident investigation – are actually supportive to the entire practical investigative process. The thesis is based on two papers, the first of which has been published in an international scientific journal, and the second has been submitted to another journal. Article I is based on a survey targeting 1283 officials in 73 municipalities. One question was about the use of 16 different safety tools. This question was answered by 50 % of the officials. The results show that safety round, risk analysis and risk inventory were reported to be used frequently in all sectors while other tools were used only in certain sectors or virtually not at all. Article II analyzes how different accident investigation methods support the practical investigative process. The evaluation is based on a process model intended to illustrate this process. The analysis comprises data from 114 tests of nine selected methods taught in a recurrent course entitled Advanced Accident Investigation Methodology at Karlstad University. More than 170 participants representing various industries and sectors were involved in the tests. The results show that among the nine assessed methods, only Deviation Analysis and STEP gives good support throughout the entire investigative process. Other methods provide support primarily during the analysis phase of an accident investigation. In summary, our findings show that local authorities make use of safety tools, but only a few of the tools are broadly used across all municipal sectors. Regarding the assessed methods of the tool accident investigation it can be concluded that there are major differences in their way to support throughout the investigative process. It is suggested that several methods should rather be described as accident analysis methods instead of accident investigation methods since they provide support mainly for the analysis step.

A 12-month longitudinal study assessed the emotional reactions of an intercollegiate athletic team to a near fatal bus incident. PANAS-X and the Brief COPE, administered on five occasions, indicated NA declined over time. Most coping strategies showed significant changes in trajectory. Acceptance and Positive Reframing were high across waves. In October 2010, an intercollegiate athletic team and coaching staff were traveling by sleeper bus to an out-of-state match. The team members and coaches were in the back of the bus when they felt the bus swaying and heard the tires hit the rumble strips. The head coach went forward to find the bus driver unconscious and slumped over the steering wheel. Although the bus swerved into the oncoming lane of interstate traffic and back onto the other shoulder, the coach was able to steer the bus and stop it safely on the side of the road. The bus driver had suffered a fatal heart attack; fortunately, the coaches and players survived with only minor injuries. This study is a longitudinal follow up assessing the emotional reactions of the coaches and team to the bus incident across a twelve-month time frame. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Expanded (PANAS-X; Watson & Clark, 1994) and the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) were administered on five occasions. Negative affect declined over time, with a larger drop in waves more proximal to the incident. Positive affect demonstrated a curvilinear pattern showing increases on the second and third wave but dropped off at the end of the spring semester 2011 and the beginning of the fall semester 2011. There were significant changes in the coping trajectories for 10 of the 14 coping strategies from the Brief COPE. These data are of particular interest as we could locate no other studies in the published literature of individual athlete or team reactions to traumatic travel incidents, although ESPN (Lavigne, 2010) noted that bus safety should be a concern for team travel.

Road traffic accidents are common sources of trauma experienced by adults, adolescents, and children. Trauma may arise as a direct result of physical injury, may occur due to experiencing perceived threat to one's life or physical self, or may develop due to witnessing death or injury to others. While there has been growing interest in the development of psychological distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, and adjustment disorder, among survivors of road accidents, there has been no systematic investigation of cyclists involved in road accidents and little specific research into child and adolescent road accident victims. In regard to cyclists, the first of these under-researched groups, study one investigated the occurrence of psychological distress in New Zealand adult cycling victims. In 1999, 619 cyclists were injured on New Zealand roads, with 86 of these accident victims from the Christchurch region. A sample of 27 Christchurch adult cyclists, who had been involved in an accident with a motor vehicle, at least one month prior to the interview, completed a structured interview and number of questionnaires. Results indicated that one third of the participants suffered ongoing psychological distress following their accident. Implications for mental health, personal wellbeing, and potential costs to the community are discussed. Study two examined the occurrence of psychological distress in New Zealand child and adolescent road accident survivors. In 2000, 1216 under-15 year-olds were injured on New Zealand roads. A national sample of 19 young people (8-17 year-olds) and their parents completed a variety of assessment measures, including a structured clinical interview in 16 cases. Of the 16 interviewed child/adolescent survivors, 19% were diagnosed with PTSD, and 69% exhibited some significant, enduring psychological distress following their accident. Implications for mental health, educational attainment, family adjustment, and personal wellbeing are discussed. Part three considered the need for secondary prevention for young road accident victims, including as a priority, means for the identification and recognition of young, road accident survivors who are at risk of developing psychopathology following a road accident. To this end, a draft of a screening guide to enable teachers and medical practitioners to identify these young at risk, road accident victims was developed.

An investigation was conducted to identify factors associated with traffic accident involvement and traffic casualty involvement of road users in Scotland. This was done to determine to what extent accident and casualty involvement are related, and so assist policy-makers in the allocation of scarce resources. Traffic accident involvement was identified for Scottish-resident vehicle drivers. Traffic casualty involvement was identified for vulnerable road users, particularly child pedestrians. Traffic accident rates were determined from information provided by approximately one thousand Scottish-resident drivers who completed an extensive questionnaire on driving behaviours. Their personal characteristics, socio-demographic data, and information on attitudes to road safety issues, were also provided. This broad investigation revealed that traffic accident involvement was found to be associated with personal characteristics, driving behaviour, and attitudes to road safety issues. There is no evidence of any area effect on accident involvement of Scottish drivers, in terms of the administrative area in which they live, the relative level of affluence/deprivation of the area, or the population density of the area. A detailed statistical analysis of STATS19 traffic accident data was conducted to determine casualty rates for different groups of road user in Lothian, Scotland, for the years 1991-97. This involved the development of a unique index of multiple deprivation suitable for both urban and rural areas. Traffic casualty rates were found to be positively associated with the level of deprivation and the population density at postcode sector level. Analysis of injury-accident data identified that personal characteristics are also associated with casualty involvement for children aged 0-15 years old. As with accident involvement, the influence of behavioural and attitudinal factors on casualty involvement needs to be examined. A significant finding from this study is that traffic accident risk and traffic casualty risk are not associated with the same factors. Place of residence is significant in determining casualty risk, but has no significant effect on accident risk. Implications from this research are discussed and suitable recommendations are made.

Thesis (MScEng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa, and other developing countries, experience great problems concerning road traffic accidents. Despite road safety campaigns like Arrive Alive being launched, accident rates do not decline significantly and the problem is predicted to get worse. This study is done on a road in the Western Cape, the R44, to investigate the causes of road accidents. The causes of the accidents are deduced from the accident reports and relationships are sought with other factors. The results of this study are risk factors (human-, environment- and vehicle factors) for the 14 accident types that occurred on the R44, as well as measures to prevent road accidents. It has been found that the human factor plays the biggest role in road accidents. Out of the 404 accidents analysed, 77.7% were caused by human factors, 8.7% by unknown factors, 7.2% by environmental factors and 6.4% by vehicle factors. The problems experienced with the data quality are reported and recommendations concerning it are made.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika en ander ontwikkelende lande ervaar groot probleme met verkeersongelukke. Ten spyte van veldtogte soos Arrive Alive wat geloods word, neem ongelukskoerse nie beduidend af nie, en daar word voorspel dat die situasie nie gaan verbeter nie. Hierdie studie is op 'n pad in die Wes-Kaap, die R44, gedoen om die oorsake van padongelukke vas te stel. Die oorsake van ongelukke i s van die ongeluksvorms a fgelei, en verwantskappe is gesoek met ander faktore. Die resultate van die studie is risikofaktore (menslike-, omgewings- en voertuigfaktore) vir die 14 ongelukstipes wat op die R44 voorgekom het, asook voorkomingsmaatreëls om padongelukke te voorkom. Daar is gevind dat die menslike faktor die grootste oorsaak van ongelukke is. Uit die 404 ongelukke wat geanaliseer is, is 77.7% van die ongelukke deur menslike faktore, 8.7% van die ongelukke deur onbekende faktore, 7.2% van die ongelukke deur omgewingsfaktore en 6.4% van die ongelukke deur voertuigfaktore veroorsaak. In hierdie studie is probleme ondervind met die datakwaliteit, en daaroor is verslag gedoen en aanbevelings gemaak.

This diploma thesis deals with analysis of causes of events in civil aviation operation in the Czech Republic during the period 2003 - 2010. Based on the analysis of final reports about flight incidents, there were described causes of these events. In conclusion the obtained results are compared with historical development of civil aviation incidents in the Czech Republic

Lietuva pagal eismo įvykių skaičių yra pirmaujanti Europos sąjungos valstybė ir nors Lietuvoje eismo įvykių skaičius mažėja, vėl pastebimas įprastinių rodiklių „grįžimas“. Lietuva yra vienintelė Europos Sąjungos šalis, kurioje kasmet eismo įvykiuose žūva daugiau kaip 200 žmonių vienam mln. gyventojų. Taigi eismo įvykių tyrimas yra aktuali tema ir teoriniu, ir praktiniu pobūdžiu. Šiame darbe pateikta eismo įvykių baudžiamoji teisinė bei kriminalistinė charakteristika, eismo įvykių kriminalistinė charakteristika ir tyrimo praktika Utenos apskrityje ir eismo įvykių tyrimo ir prevencijos tobulinimo kryptys. Darbe nagrinėjamos teorinės ir praktinės problemos, su kuriomis susiduria pareigūnai tirdami eismo įvykius. Išnagrinėjus visus ikiteisminius tyrimus, pradėtus dėl eismo įvykių ir išanalizavus 100 apklausos anketų, kurias užpildė Utenos apskrities policijos komisariatų pareigūnai ir Utenos apskrities prokuratūrų prokurorai, darbe pateikiama eismo įvykių, įvykusių Utenos apskrityje, kriminalistinė charakteristika, nurodomi neigiami veiksniai, įtakojantys eismo įvykių tyrimą Utenos apskrityje. Baigiamojo darbo pagrindinė išvada - eismo įvykių tyrimo praktika Utenos apskrityje nėra vienoda ir neigiamai įtakoja eismo įvykių tyrimą. Eismo įvykių tyrimo praktiką Utenos apskrityje reikia vienodinti, o eismo įvykių tyrimą pavesti viešosios policijos padaliniams.
By the number of traffic accidents Lithuania takes the leading position among the European Union countries. Although the number of traffic accidents in Lithuania is declining, usual rates are observed to return. Lithuania is the only EU country where over 200 persons per one million of the population get killed in traffic accidents every year. Therefore investigation of traffic accidents is a relevant topic both in the theoretical and practical aspect. The thesis describes traffic accidents in terms of criminal law and criminology, discusses criminological characteristics of traffic accidents and investigation practice in Utena County and indicates the directions for improvement of investigation and prevention of traffic accidents.

The concept of the investigation of accidents at job and the problems of the investigation of accidents at job in Lithuania and in foreign countries are analyzed in the theoretical part of the work. In the practical part of the work Lithuanian regulations of investigation of accidents at job are compared with the documents which regulate the investigation of accidents at job in Great Britain, Canada, Russia Federation and France. In proceedings of comparing analysis we intended to ascertain how the interests of the workers are protected during the investigation of accidents at job. To reach the aim, we made the analysis of the questionnaire results. The research and comparing analysis of legal documents confirmed the hypothesis arguably, that regulations of the investigation of accidents at job and account do not enough protect the interests of the workers during the investigation in Lithuania.

Bakgrund: Enligt lagen om skydd mot olyckor (SFS 2003:778) skall en olycksundersökning genomföras vid alla olyckor i skälig omfattning i syfte att finna orsak, händelseförlopp och utvärdering av räddningsinsatsen (SFS 2003:778, kap3, 10§). Bland genomförda olycksundersökningar i Sveriges kommuner har Statens Räddningsverk identifierat en stor inbördes variation gällande innehållet i utredningarna och brister vid vidarebefordring till myndigheten för statistisk analys. Uppsatsen är därför ett led i myndighetens utveckling av stödet för datainsamlingen vid kommunala olycksundersökningar i syfte att förbättra förutsättningarna för goda lärdomar vid olyckor.

Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är tvådelat. Att först analysera vilka erfarenheter som samlas in av de kommunala olycksutredarna och därefter verifiera resultaten utifrån tidigare forskningsresultat.

Metod och material: Med metoden kvalitativ innehållsanalys har ett urval av kommunala olycksundersökningar analyserats (n=21), där insamlade erfarenheter har kategoriserats i ett antal gemensamma teman. Underlaget (n=68) är hämtat från Statens Räddningsverk och bestod av alla vidarebefordrade kommunala olycksundersökningar mellan 2005 till och med april 2007 fördelade över 8 klassifikationer.

Resultatdiskussion: Utifrån tidigare forskningsresultat har sedermera resultaten verifierats. Konklusionen av uppsatsen redovisas i ett antal förslag på riktlinjer som bör tolkas som ett stöd vid datainsamlingen gällande kommunala olycksundersökningar. Uppsatsen är en förstudie då underlaget bör utökas och resultaten prövas empiriskt innan riktlinjerna praktiskt tillämpas.

Background: According to the legislation regarding protection against accidents (SFS 2003:778) shall an accident investigation be implemented at a reasonable depth to find reason, development and evaluation of the rescue initiative (SFS 2003:778, chp3, 10§). Among implemented accident investigations in Sweden's municipalities has the Swedish Rescue Services Agency identified large mutual variation the current content in the investigations and deficiencies at forwarding them to the authority for statistical analysis. This essay is therefore part of the authority's development of the aid for the collection of data regarding municipal accident investigations in aim to improve the conditions to draw important knowledge from accidents.

Aim: The aim with this essay is two-folded. To first analyze which experiences that are collected from the municipal accident investigators and then verify the results on the basis of earlier research results.

Method and materials: With the method Qualitative Content Analysis has a selection of municipal accident investigations been analyzed (n=21), where collected experiences have been categorized in a number common themes. The basis (n=68) is retrieved from the Swedish Rescue Service Agency and is comprised of all forwarded municipal accident investigations between 2005 up to and including April 2007 distributed over 8 classifications.

Results: On the basis of earlier research the results have been verified. The conclusion of the essay is presented in a number proposals on guidelines that should be interpreted as an aid regarding the data collection at municipal accident investigations. The essay is a preliminary study where the basis should be increased and the results examined empirically before the guidelines can be practical applied.

Thesis (M.S. in Program Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2006.
Thesis Advisor(s): Donald Eaton. "September 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-126). Also available in print.

Serious games are successfully applying game engines for purposes that go beyond pure entertainment However this results in a serious game being dependent on a particular game engine. This undermines the ability to keep the serious game up to date with the latest in gaming technology and also causes insecurity due to the possibility of the discontinuation of a game engine or the possibility of its support dwindling. In this thesis, the 'game' is separated from the game engine in order to make it portable between game engines. The game elements this work makes portable are the game logic, the object model and the game state, which represent the game's brain, and which are collectively referred to as the game factor, or G-factor. This separation is achieved by using an architecture called game space architecture (GSA), which ,combines a variant of the model-view-controller (MVC) pattern to separate the G-factor (the model) from the game engine (the view) with on-the-fly scripting to enable communication through an adapter (the controller). This enables multiple views (i.e. game engines) to exist for the same model (i.e. G-factor). The success of GSA in achieving its objective is evaluated by two types of evaluation: structured and unstructured. The principal findings from the evaluation process reveal that GSA is capable of servicing the same G-factor to multiple game engines and that it supports modifiability. They also reveal that GSA adds little development overhead. The ability of GSA to scale to real world applications is demonstrated by the development of a serious game for traffic accident investigators (SGTAI). SGTAI itself is used to investigate the suitability of a serious game to address the Dubai police force's current traffic accident investigation training needs. These needs were identified in a field study conducted in the summer of 2004 to assess the current training methods oflectures and on-the-job training. SGTAI was then developed by combining game design and instructional design to ensure the learning objectives were integral to the gameplay. To assess the learning effectiveness of SGTAI an experiment was conducted in February and March of 2006 for fifty-six police officers from the Dubai police force. They were divided into two groups: novices (0 to 2 years experience) and experienced investigators (with more than 2 years e.'{perience). The experiment revealed significant performance improvements in both groups, with the improvement reported in novices significantly higher than the one reported in experienced investigators.

The investigatory findings of the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia accident investigation boards are analyzed and evaluated relative to one another, with the goal of determining if there are lessons applicable to organizations that manage technically complex programs. An analysis is conducted of the recommendations from the Challenger investigation and NASA's actions taken to correct problems in the organization. The effectiveness of both the recommendations and NASA's response in terms of preventing the Columbia accident are examined. In the intervening years between the Challenger and Columbia several unofficial analyses of the Challenger accident and investigation have been published. The findings of these independent works are presented in order to determine any relationship to the Columbia accident and the subsequent Columbia investigation. The investigation of the Columbia accident and Challenger accident are compared to determine if any of the investigatory findings indicate that there were common factors in the accidents. An evaluation of the NASA organizational structure and culture is conducted. The impact of the culture on implementing the changes recommended after Challenger and relationship to the Columbia accident and investigation is examined. These analyses and examinations result in several conclusions and recommendations applicable to organizations that manage technically complex programs.

Les piétons comptent parmi les usagers de la route les plus vulnérables dans la mesure où ils ne bénéficient d'aucune protection en cas d'impact avec un véhicule automobile. Plus de 1,17 millions de personnes sont tués sur la route de part le monde dont environ 65% ce piétons. Les blessures de la tête, souvent fatales, concernent environ 30 % des blessures enregistrées. Ces blessures conduisent à des incapacités de longue durée avec un coût sociétal et économique immense. Il est par conséquent essentiel de comprendre aussi bien les mécanismes d'accidents que les mécanismes de blessure de la tête afin d'intervenir sur la conception de la face avant des véhicules automobile. Dans ce contexte l'objet de la présente thèse est d'analyser la répons dynamique du piton en cas d'accident et ce contribuer au développement de critères de blessure de la tête. Dans le but d'étudier l'influence de la position du piéton, de la géométrie de la face avant du véhicule et de sa vitesse initiale sur la cinématique du piéton et les conditions d'impact de la tête, une simulation multi-corps a été mise en place. Les résultats de ces simulations donnent la vitesse et l'angle d'impact de la tête et la position de l'impact sur le véhicule. Cette analyse paramètrique a été conduite sur cinq types de véhicules et pour un modèle humain adulte et enfant de 6 ans et a permis de consolider les connaissances sur la conditions d'impact de la tête en comparaison avec les tests normatifs en vigueur.[...]
Pedestrians are regarded as an extremely vulnerable and high-risk group of road users since they are unprotected in vehicle impacts. More than 1.17 million people throughout the world are killed in road traffic accidents each year. Where, about 65% of deaths involve pedestrians. The head injuries in vehicle-pedestrian collisions accounted for about 30% of all reported injuries on different body regions, which often resulted in a fatal consequence. Such injuries can result in disabilities and long-term sequence, which lead to significant social costs. It is therefore important to study the characteristics of pedestrian accidents and understand the head injury mechanism of the pedestrian so as to improve vehicle design for pedestrian protection. The aim of this study is to investigate pedestrian dynamic response and develop head injury risk functions.In order to investigate the effect of pedestrian gait, vehicle front geometry and impact velocity on the dynamic responses of the head, the multi-body dynamic (MBD) models were used to simulate the head responses in vehicle to pedestrian collisions with different vehicle types in terms of head impact point measured with Wrap Around Distance (WAD), head relative velocity and impact angle. A simulation matrix is established using five vehicle types, and two mathematical models of the pedestrians represented a 50th male adult and a 6 year old child as well as seven pedestrian gaits based on typical postures in pedestrian accidents. In order to simulate a large range of impact conditions, four vehicle velocities (30 km/h, 40 km/h, 50 km/h and 60 km/h) are considered for each pedestrian position and vehicle type.A total of 43 passenger car versus pedestrian accidents were selected from In-depth Investigation of Vehicle Accidents in Changsha, China (IVAC) and German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS) database for simulation study. According to real-world accident investigation, accident reconstructions were conducted using multi-body system (MBS) pedestrian and car models under MADYMO simulation environment to calculate head impact conditions, in terms of head impact velocity, head position and head orientation. In order to study kinematics of adult pedestrian, relationship curves: head impact time, throw distance, head impact velocity and vehicle impact velocity, were computed and logistic regression models: head impact velocity, resultant angular velocity, HIC value, head contact force and head injuries, were developed based on the results from accident reconstructions.The automobile windshield, with which pedestrians come into frequent contact, has been identified as one of the main contact sources for pedestrian head injuries. In order to investigate the mechanical behavior of windshield laminated glass in the caseof pedestrian head impact, windshield FE models were set up using different combination for the modeling of glass and PVB, with various connection types and two mesh sizes (5 mm and 10 mm). Each windshield model was impacted with a standard adult headform impactor in an LS-DYNA simulation environment, and the results were compared with the experimental data reported in the literatures.In order to assess head injury risks of adult pedestrians, accident reconstructions were carried out by using Hybrid III head model based on the real-world pedestrian accidents. The impact conditions were obtained from the MBS simulation, including head impact velocity, head position and head orientation. They were used to set the initial conditions in a simulation of a Hybrid III FE head model striking a windshield FE model. Logistic regression models, Skull Fracture Correlate (SFC), head linear acceleration, Head Impact Power (HIP), HIC value, resultant angular acceleration and head injuries, were developed to study brain injury risk.{...]

Šiame magistro darbe išanalizuota Lietuvos eismo įvykių apskaitos sistema, sudaryta iš duomenų rinkimo, įvedimo ir teikimo proceso, kurį atlieka policijos įstaigų darbuotojai. Darbe išsamiai išnagrinėti Lietuvos norminiai dokumentai, reglamentuojantys eismo įvykių apskaitos procesą. Analizės rezultatams apibendrinti yra skurti pirminių veiksmų, duomenų pasiskirstymo ir teikimo bei ikiteisminio tyrimo medžiagos panaudojimo grafiniai modeliai. Taip pat išsamiai išnagrinėtas Europos Sąjungoje atliekamas eismo įvykių apskaitos procesas. Darbe pateiktas eismo įvykių duomenų apskaitos programinės sistemos detalus vertinimas su rekomendacijomis, kaip patobulinti sistemą siekiant užtikrinti išsamesnius, tikslesnius oficialios statistikos eismo įvykių duomenis. Baigiamojo darbo apimtis – 81 psl. teksto be priedų, 19 lentelių ir 13 paveikslų.
In this Master Thesis analysis of Lithuanian road accident management system, which consists data collecting, adding and provision process have been done. Lithuanian normative documents which governs road accident management process are purely explored in this Master Thesis. To generalize analysis results have been created primary respond, data distribution and provision, data usage of pre-trial process graphical models. Also a part of the work reveals detailed analysis of accident data management of European Union countries. In this paper is provided detailed evaluation of road accident data management software system and recommendations to ensure more detailed road accidents data of official statistics by improving system. Master Thesis consists of 81 pages pure text without appendixes, 19 tables and 13 pictures.

Stroke, or cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a prominent cause of long term disability in the United States. It has been evidenced that the outcome of a CVA patient differs as a function of the cerebral hemisphere that is damaged by the stroke, especially in terms of emotional changes. The Right Hemisphere Model of Emotion posits that the right hemisphere is specialized for processing emotional content, regardless of valence. In contrast, the Bi-Hemispheric Model of Emotion posits that each hemisphere has its own emotional specialization. The current experiment tested the competing predictions of the two theoretical perspectives in a mixed sample of left cerebrovascular accident (LCVA) patients and right cerebrovascular accident (RCVA) patients using a Dichotic Listening task and the Affective Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AAVLT). Heart Rate (HR) and Pulse Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) were also recorded as sympathetic measures. It was expected that the predictions of the Bi-Hemispheric Model would be supported. A series of mixed design ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that both groups may have exhibited decreased auditory detection abilities in the ear contralateral to CVA location. Additionally, CVA patients recalled significantly more positive words, than negative or neutral words, and exhibited a significant learning curve. LCVA patients exhibited a recency effect, while RCVA patients exhibited a heightened primacy effect. Findings from HR and SPO2 measures suggested a parasympathetic response to neutral information as well as an impaired sympathetic response to negative information in RCVA patients. Taken together these results lend partial support to the hypotheses drawn from the Bi-Hemispheric Model of Emotion, as evidenced by the diametrically opposite effects in these groups, which appears to reflect opposing cerebral processes.
Ph. D.

Technogeninės avarijos Lietuvoje – mažai ir retai nagrinėjama tema, todėl rasta mažai straipsnių ir medžiaga darbui atlikti buvo renkama iš labiausiai visuomenei prieinamų šaltinių – teisės aktų ir internetinių institucijų tinklapių. Darbe pateikta ūkinės veiklos teisinė samprata, klasifikacija, avarijos kaip visumos elementai, nagrinėtas bendras šalies ir atskirų ūkio sričių avaringumas, tirtos inspektuojančių institucijų metinės veiklos ataskaitos, ištirti technogeninių avarijų valdymo ypatumai. Darbo tikslas buvo pasiektas, nes nustatytos labiausiai pavojingos ir nepavojingos ūkinės veiklos sritys, pagal jas – objektai, įvardintos probleminės sritys ūkinės veiklos ir pavojinguose objektuose, įvardintos grėsmės ekologiniam saugumui Lietuvoje, suskaičiuotos kelerių metų avarijų tendencijos skirtingose ūkio šakose, pateiktos dažniausios technogeninių avarijų priežastys, padarytos išvados.
Technogenic accidents in Lithuania – a low and rarely the issue in question, therefore found few articles and material work was collected from most public soures – legislation and on the institucions website. The work on the legal concept of economic activity, breakdown, accident as a whole, the elements examined, the country and individual economic sectors accident, investigated inspection authorities annual activity report, investigate technogenic accidents in handling qualities. The goal was achieved, as the most hazardous and non-hazardous areas of economic activity, according to them – objects named problem areas of economic activity and critical facilities, named environmental threats to security in Lithuania, an estimated number of years of accidents in different trends industries, the most common sauses of technogenic accidents, the conclusions drawn.

Disagreements regarding to what degree right-turn lanes improve or worsen the safety of intersections and driveways provided the motivation and the need for this study. The objectives of this study were to: a) carry out an in-depth study to determine the safety impacts of right-turn movements in different contexts, and b) develop safety-based volume warrants for right-turn lanes if safety indeed improves. Lack of adequate study on the applicability of past warrants and guidelines for the specific context of right-turn movements made from major uncontrolled approaches at unsignalized intersections, and particularly driveways, on two-lane roadways provided the scope for this study. Five-year historical data of statewide traffic crashes reported on Minnesota?s twolane trunk highways were analyzed using binary/multinomial logistic regressions. Conflicts due to right turns were analyzed by fitting least squares conflict prediction models based on the data obtained from field surveys and traffic simulations. The safety impacts of rightturn lanes were determined through crash-conflict relationships, crash injury severity, and crash and construction costs. The study found that the probabilities of right-turn movement related crash ranged from 1.6 to 17.2% at intersections and from 7.8 to 38.7% at driveways. Rear-end, samedirection- sideswipe, right-angle and right-turn crash types constituted 96% of right-turn movement related crashes. Rear-end crash probabilities varied from 13.7 to 46.4% at approaches with right-turn lanes and from 37.9 to 76.9% otherwise. The ratios of rearend/ same-direction-sideswipe crashes to conflicts were 0.759 x 10^6 at approaches with right-turn lanes and 1.547 x 10^6 otherwise. Overall, right-turn lanes reduced right-turn movement related crash occurrences and conflicts by 85% and 80%, respectively. Right-turn lanes also reduced crash injury severity, hence, reducing the economic cost by 26%. Safety benefits, in dollars, realized with the use of right-turn lanes at driveways were 29% and 7% higher compared to those at intersections at low and high speed conditions respectively for similar traffic conditions. Depending on roadway conditions, interest rate and construction costs, the safety-based volume thresholds ranged from 3 to 200 right turns per hour during the design hour at intersection approaches, and from 2 to 175 right turns at driveway approaches.

Reported is an exploratory study of problems and conditions within the organizational work context that influence posttraining use of training outcomes. Training is widely perceived and supported as an effective means for facilitating planned change in organizational performance. Little empirical evidence is available to support such supposition. Of the several studies of training impact, few have focused on why training does or does not produce behavioral change back on-the-job. Accordingly, training management is often incomplete and ineffective. This study employed a questionnaire methodology, directed to a national sample of 391 local, county, and state law enforcement personnel who graduated from a two-week accident investigation training program. Questions elicited ratings on 29 problem/conditions hypothesized within the literature as influential to organizational work behavior. A Likert type scale was used to rate the perceived influence of each problem/condition on the application of specific training outcomes during investigation of a recent most serious accident. An index was used to measure level of training use. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Scheffe's comparisons test, and multiple regression analysis were used to answer study questions. Problem/conditions identified by more than 30% of the respondents as a Moderate or Major impediment to their use of training outcomes were: lack of rewards or incentives to conduct thorough investigations or to use knowledge and skill acquired through training; lack of time to apply investigative techniques by training; lack of resources and equipment necessary to apply training; lack of follow through by agency decision makers to see that training was put into use; and, lack of communication from top administrators indicating how the training was to be used. Isolated as predictors of training use were: the relative seriousness of the situational context within which training was applied; the trainee's opinion of the course; level of specialized training received; relative frequency of investigative assignment; and, level of conflict perceived to exist between behaviors specified by training and agency standard operating procedures.
Ed. D.

O objetivo geral desta tese foi conceber uma sistemática para elaborar um plano de prevenção, a partir do delineamento das falhas humanas, com a finalidade de minimizar os acidentes numa organização. Essa sistemática está baseada no pressuposto de que as organizações podem aprender com os acidentes, e que estes não são decorrentes de comportamentos inapropriados dos trabalhadores, mas consequência de um contexto organizacional desfavorável, e nos conceitos provenientes dos erros ativos e das condições latentes, propostos como fatores causais de um acidente. Para se alcançar tal objetivo, foi realizada revisão bibliográfica acerca dos assuntos pertinentes e, a partir deste estudo, foi concebida a proposta inicial da sistemática para, em seguida, submetê-la a um estudo de caso. A revisão de literatura abordou as teorias sobre como os acidentes acontecem, qual a participação do erro humano nestes eventos, quais os tipos de erros, como eles se manifestam e quais as técnicas de prevenção. Além disso, a revisão de literatura permitiu avaliar o Sistema de Análise e Classificação de Fatores Humanos (HFACS), técnica desenvolvida para identificar e classificar os erros humanos, de forma ordenada, percebendo-se que este sistema possui limitações e que as técnicas de prevenção enfatizam ações centradas na segurança operacional, não abrangendo outros níveis na organização. A proposta inicial da sistemática foi concebida em dois módulos: o de Investigação, que visa entender como a organização conduz o processo de análise dos acidentes e determinar os principais erros ativos e as condições latentes, por meio de múltiplas fontes de evidência, baseando-se nas categorias e subcategorias do sistema HFACS e com a utilização de entrevistas com grupos focados e de observação não-participante; e o módulo de Prevenção, o qual procura, juntamente com a equipe gerencial da empresa, determinar ações de prevenção estratégicas para a organização. Com os resultados empíricos obtidos, foi possível avaliar o emprego da sistemática numa concessionária de energia elétrica, detectando-se pontos de melhorias e estabelecendo a versão final da mesma, além de se definir parâmetros de como aplicá-la. Constatou-se, também, que a sistemática possibilita, por meio do cenário dos erros ativos e das condições latentes, visualizar setores que necessitam intervenções na área de segurança, auxiliando, dessa forma, este setor na organização, além de permitir avaliar o desempenho da Gestão do Sistema de Segurança e Saúde do Trabalho (GSST) da empresa.
The object of this thesis was to conceive a framework to develop a prevention plan, based on the outlining of human errors, in order to minimize accidents in organizations. This work is based on the assumption that organizations can learn from accidents, and that these are not due to workers inappropriate behavior, but because of an unfavorable organizational context; and on concepts originated from active errors and latent conditions proposed as casual factors in an accident. To reach such object, we reviewed literature on relevant subjects and from that study the original proposal of the system was conceived and subjected to a case study. The literature review approached the theories on how accidents happen, the role of human errors in such events types of errors concerned, how they manifest themselves in accidents and which are the prevention techniques. In addition, the literature review allowed, an evaluation of the Human Factor Analysis Classification System – HFACS, a framework developed to identify and classify human error, in an orderly manner, but with limitations; and prevention techniques are centered on operational safety, not involving other levels of the organizations. The initial framework proposal was designed in two modules: the Research Module, aiming to understand how the organization conducts the process of analysis of accidents, and to determine the main active errors and latent conditions using multiple sources of evidence based on the categories and subcategories of the HFACS, on interviews applied to focused groups and on non-participant observation; and the Prevention Module, which aims to determine prevention strategies for the organization, together with their management team. With the results attained in the case study, it was possible to evaluate performance the framework in an electric utility company, detect improvement points, establish its final version and set the parameters on how to apply it. It was also noted that, by means of the active errors and the latent condition settings, this framework is able to help the sectors of a company as it displays where assistance in the security field is needed; besides allowing the organization to evaluate the management performance of the Safety and Health at Work System.

Assessing post-stroke driving safety is a multifactorial issue. Therefore, this thesis developed a post-stroke driver profile, investigating the appropriateness of assessments; including on-road observations, simulated driving and cognitive assessments in licensed post-stroke drivers. It also assessed the influence of post-stroke cognition on driving performance, task demand, and investigated the compensation strategies used by post-stroke licensees. The results are useful for practitioners and policy makers, and in driving assessments, rehabilitation programmes and for future research.

The present work of thesis investigate the explosibility sensitivity and behavior of combustible solid materials, in the form of dusts. The first phase of the work has focused on the ignition sensitivity of combustible dusts, both in form of clouds than deposed as layers. Standard test methods has been used to assess ignition parameter of the samples, i.e. UNI EN 50821: 1999. MITC and MITL were measured for pure combustible dusts and for mixtures of different dusts. In particular mixtures of combustible and inert dusts were analyzed. The experimental results underlined the increase of the ignition temperature (both in clouds than in layers) as the weight content of inert material increase. Extinguishing powders with chemical heat depletion effect had demonstrated to be more effective in increasing the ignition temperature with respect to inert acting with physical inertia mechanism. MITC of two combustible dusts mixture have been analyzed and results have shown the poor accuracy of the standard procedure in defining the ignition temperature, particularly when there is little difference between ignition temperatures of the pure materials. The author has attempted to reduce this lack of accuracy, inadequate when a high level of details is required (like for scientific purposes) in ignition measurements through different statistical analysis of experimental data. This study has generated a statistical approach to the investigation of dust ignition temperature with the definition of the SIT (Statistical Ignition Temperature) and the definition of a Probability Escalation Interval (PEI); within PEI ignition probability of dusts vary between 0 and 1 with respect to temperature. The results obtained show that standard methods adopted worldwide could fail in determine the MITC of dusts and bring a new, more accurate methodology as a contribution on the definition of ignition concept of dusts. The statistical study could also apply to ignition criteria of the explosibility test proposed here, in order to give to SET procedures and results a more reliable statistical value. The Speditive Explosibility Test has the form of a screening procedures for defining explosibility of dust samples, with the aim of avoiding time and cost-consuming standard procedures. The test consist in different procedures derived from standards (mainly UNI EN 50821 and UNI EN 13821) which ignition conditions are modified to be “as worst as possible”, in order to avoid marginally explosive dusts to be classified as non explosible. Tests were performed on different dusts samples (by chemical composition, nature, PSD) and results were validated through explosion test in the 20 L Siwek-sphere. The test classification shows, for the majority of the samples collected, good agreement with literature standard explosibility tests. The SET could be assumed as standard test for the explosibility determination of a dust. A second experimental campaign was performed on non-traditional dusts coming from textile industries. All samples PSD was analyzed and 15 over 100 total were submitted to the SET with the aim to obtain more data on explosive behavior of those type of dusts.

The need for any aviation authority to have an alert and more so, efficient accident or incident investigation mechanism cannot be over emphasized particularly in present day aviation practice. It is thus, in the best interest of any state, not only to be on the high alert in the event of an accident occurring. As well as also having sufficient resources and expertise, to engage in the investigative process. A significant factor to the carrying out of such investigations is off course, the manner in which such process is regulated. More so because investigations of this nature can only be carried out and addressed in a manner stipulated as a matter of law. It would therefore follow, that the legislation which directly regulates the process in which the investigations are carried out should be both succinct and clear. Further, it should also adhere strictly to internationally established guidelines of due conduct in the occurrence of accidents. Aircraft accident and incident investigations are central to the observance of safety in aviation as a sector. Thus, the realization of aircraft safety in aviation is a central function of any aviation authority. It is a role so central, that it is one that is internationally recognised and harmonised. Though not a matter of enforced International law, international best practice in this field is established in a convention, in particular the International Convention on Civil Aviation of 1944, which is more commonly referred to as the Chicago convention. As all treaties and/or conventions this is an opt?in regulatory mechanism, in which only member states bind themselves. Therefore, where a state becomes a signatory to same and has bound itself, it is of crucial importance that it observes the laws or regulations to which it has bound itself. As a matter of course, individual state compliance at times even for mere ratification purposes has proved over time to be a tricky process for numerous states. This is particularly prevalent in developing countries. Some texts have attributed this to various aspects, such as lack of necessary expertise and resources amongst other factors. Whatever the reason however, it is important that states eventually comply with regulations laid out in conventions, so as to achieve harmonisation in processes of International applicability. This research paper seeks to take an in depth look into to the extent to which Swaziland as a member state of the Chicago convention, has achieved compliance with the set guidelines of the Chicago Convention. However, the report will confine itself to aircraft safety as the focal point, and in particular, focus on the specific regulatory mechanisms that relate to aircraft accident and incidents.
Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
Public Law
LLM
Unrestricted

Las secuencias de accidente con rotura de tubos en el generador de vapor (secuencias SGTR) están consideradas como contribuyentes del riesgo en reactores de agua a presión. Su relevancia radica en la potencial liberación de aerosoles radioactivos al medio ambiente en caso de accidente severo. Sin embargo, dichas partículas podrían quedar retenidas parcial o totalmente sobre las superficies del generador de vapor, incluso en condiciones extremas de ausencia de agua en el generador de vapor. La carencia de conocimiento en cuanto a la capacidad de retención de término fuente de este componente ha eludido su consideración en los estudios probabilistas de seguridad y en las guías de gestión de accidente severo. Esta tesis es una contribución a la comprensión y cuantificación de los procesos naturales de mitigación que tienen lugar dentro del generador de vapor como consecuencia de los accidentes SGTR. La principal actividad llevada a cabo ha sido el desarrollo de un modelo teórico que calcula la capacidad de retención de aerosoles en la etapa de rotura de un generador de vapor seco. El modelo, llamado ARI3SG, está basado en una aproximación de filtro y tiene una naturaleza semi-empírica. En él se tienen en cuenta tanto la dinámica de aerosoles como la hidrodinámica de aerosoles que tiene lugar dentro del generador de vapor en este tipo de escenarios. Para esto último, se han llevado a cabo una serie de simulaciones con el código tridimensional FLUENT 6.2, que han sido validadas con datos experimentales. El comportamiento del modelo ha sido evaluado en profundidad: primero, a través de un proceso de verificación con el que se ha visto que es robusto. Segundo, a través de un proceso de validación frente a los datos experimentales disponibles. Tercero, a través del estudio del efecto de las incertidumbres del escenario y del modelo sobre los resultados. La comparación frente a los datos experimentales ha sido satisfactoria y muestra la viabilidad del uso de formulaciones como la de ARI3SG en códigos de sistema.
López Del Prá, C. (2012). A THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION OF AEROSOL RETENTION WITHIN THE SECONDARY SIDE OF A STEAM GENERATOR UNDER A SGTR SEVERE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE IN A PWR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/15183
Palancia

"Raising the bar" in safety performance is a critical challenge for many organizations. Contributing factor taxonomies organize information on why accidents occur. Therefore, they are essential elements of accident investigations and safety reporting systems. Organizations must balance efforts to identify causes of specific accidents with efforts to evaluate systemic safety issues in order to become more proactive about improving safety. This research successfully addressed two problems: (1) limited methods and metrics exist to support the design of effective taxonomies, and (2) influence relationships between contributing factors are not explicitly modeled within a taxonomy. The primary result of the taxonomic relationship modeling efforts was an innovative "dual role" contributing factor taxonomy with significant improvements in comprehensiveness and diagnosticity over existing taxonomies. The influence map methodology was the result of a unique graphical and analytical combination of the dual role taxonomy and influence relationship models. Influence maps were developed for several safety incidents at Kennedy Space Center. An independent assessment was conducted by a team of experts using the new dual role taxonomy and influence chain methodology to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of contributing factors identified during the formal incident investigations. One hundred and sixteen contributing factors were identified using the influence map methodology. Only 16% of these contributing factors were accurately identified with traditional tools, and over half of the 116 contributing factors were completely unaddressed by the findings and recommendations of the formal incident reports. The new methodology is being applied to improve spaceport operations and enhance designs of future NASA launch systems.
Ph.D.
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
Engineering and Computer Science
Industrial Engineering and Management Systems