Basic study on the measuring of fatigue by the minimum audible pressure

Abstract

Nowadays, human senses of vision and hearing receive many stimulations. In particular, VDT work is commonly performed by people of all ages. Therefore, in order to regulate working hours we need to measure the fatigue due to VDT work. The current measuring system depends on the flicker value (CFF). This report describes a new measuring system which depends on the measurement of the fluctuation in the minimum audible pressure (MAP) while using the increase of threshold value as an index of fatigue, and the results of the related experiment. In Test I, the test sound was set at the pure sound of 1000Hz. In Test 2, an ordinary hearing acuity inspection room was used, using the method of limit measurement and headphones (Telephonies, TDH39, MX41/AR). As a result, it was verified that the most suitable rate of increasing and decreasing audible pressure was by 2 dB or 1 dB.

It was proved from these tests that the minimum audible pressure could be used satisfactorily as a practical index for absolute measurement of hearing sense fatigue.     

A Review of :“Leu Accidents du Travail.” By JACQUES LEPLAT et XAVIER CUNY. (Paris: Presses Universities de France, 1974.( [Pp.128. £0·00.

Police officers spend large amounts of time performing duties within a police cruiser and report a high prevalence of musculoskeletal problems. This study evaluated the effects of driver seat and duty belt design on posture, pressure and discomfort. Ten male and 10 female university students attended two sessions involving simulated driving in a standard police seat (CV) and an active lumbar support (ALS) seat. Participants wore a full duty belt (FDB) or reduced duty belt (RDB) in each seat. Lumbar postures, driver-seat and driver-duty belt pressures and perceived discomfort were measured. Gender × Seat interactions were found for pelvic (p = 0.0001) and lumbar postures (p = 0.003). Females had more lumbar flexion than males and were more extended in the ALS seat (?9.8 ± 11.3°) than CV seat (?19.8 ± 9.6°). The FDB had greater seat pressure than the RDB (p < 0.0001), which corresponded to increased pelvis discomfort. This study supports the use of an ALS seat and RDB to reduce injury risk associated with prolonged sitting in police officers.

Practitioner Summary: Police officers report a high prevalence of musculoskeletal problems to the lower back, associated with prolonged driving and further investigation is needed to reduce injury risk. This simulated driving study investigated seat and duty belt configuration on biomechanical measures and discomfort. Seat design had the greatest impact, regardless of gender and males benefited more from a reduced belt configuration.     

Ergonomics modelling and evaluation of automobile seat comfort

Automobile seats are developed in an iterative manner because subjective feedback, which is usually of questionable quality, drives the design. The time and cost associated with iteration could be justified if the process was guaranteed to produce a comfortable seat. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Current practices are based on the premise that seat system design teams need objective, measurable laboratory standards, which can be linked to subjective perceptions of comfort. Only in this way can predictions be made regarding whether or not a particular design will be viewed by the consumer as comfortable. This type of forecasting ability would effectively improve the efficiency with which automobile seats are designed. In this context, the research reported, developed, and validated a stepwise, multiple linear regression model relating seat interface pressure characteristics, occupant anthropometry, occupant demographics, and perceptions of seat appearance to an overall, subjective comfort index derived from a survey with proven levels of reliability and validity. The model performance statistics were: adjusted r ²?=?0.668, standard error of estimate?=?2.308, F (6, 38)?=?15.728, p?=?0.000, and cross-validated r (15)?=?0.952, p?=?0.000. From the model, human criteria for seat interface pressure measures were established. These findings could not have been attained without first demonstrating that (1) the data collection protocol for seat interface pressure measurement was repeatable and (2) seat interface pressure measurements can be used to distinguish between seats.     

Pressure-impulse diagram with multiple failure modes of one-way reinforced concrete slab under blast loading using SDOF method

Two loosely coupled single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems were used to model the flexural and direct shear responses of one-way reinforced concrete slabs subjected to explosive loading. Blast test results show that the SDOF systems are accurate in predicting the failure mode of the slab under blast loads by incorporating the effects of the strain rate effect caused by rapid load application. Based on different damage criteria, pressure-impulse (P-I) diagrams of the two failure modes were analyzed with the SDOF systems. The effects of span length, concrete strength, and reinforcement ratio of the slab on the P-I diagram were also investigated. Results indicate that a slab tends to fail in direct shear mode when it is of a smaller span length and tends to fail in flexure mode when it is of a larger span length. With the increase of the concrete strength or reinforced ratio, both the flexure and shear capacity increase. Based on numerical results, a simplified method and a semi analytical equation for deriving the P-I diagram are proposed for different failure modes and damage levels.     

Fluid flow characteristics of single inclined circular jet impingement for ultra-fast cooling

The fluid flow characteristics of the single bunch inclined jet impingement were investigated with different jet flow velocities, nozzle diameters, jet angles and jet-to-target distances for ultra-fast cooling technology. The results show that the peak pressure varying significantly from nearly 0.5 to above 13.4 kPa locates at the stagnation point with different jet diameters, and the radius of impact pressure affected zone is small promoted from 46 to 81 mm in transverse direction, and 50 to 91 mm in longitude direction when the jet flow velocity changes from 5 to 20 m/s. However, the fluid flow velocity is relatively smaller near the stagnation point, and increases gradually along the radius outwards, then declines. There is an obvious anisotropic characteristic that the flow velocity component along the jet direction is about twice of the contrary one where the jet anlge is 60°, jet diameter is 5 mm, jet length is 8 mm and jet height is 50 mm.     

压力敏感性储层超前注水开发研究

压力敏感性储层在开发过程中,储层渗透率随储层压力的降低而下降,进而影响油井产量及油田开发效果。为了量化地层压力变化对压力敏感性储层开发的影响,通过实验研究得出了储层渗透率随地层压力的变化规律。进而建立了压力敏感性储层渗透率及油井产量随地层压力的变化关系,并结合油田开发实例,研究了超前注水在压力敏感性储层开发中应用效果。     

基于FSK调制模式的新型胎压监测系统开发(英文)

分析了间接式胎压监测系统(TPMS)的不足,并基于FSK信号调制模式抗噪声强的特点,开发了一种新的直接式胎压监测系统.该系统由轮胎压力传感器和胎压控制器组成:轮胎压力传感器采用高集成复合芯片SP37实现轮胎内部压力、温度、加速度等信息的检测和发射,体积小、重量轻;胎压控制器以8位单片机控制射频接收器MC33596实现无线数据的接收、显示和报警.基于素数的动态延时算法和节能策略,降低了多个传感器同时发射时发生连续数据冲突的概率,在满足系统监测实时性的前提下延长了工作寿命.实车测试效果表明,该系统数据接收灵敏度可达到-100 dBm,在汽车时速100 km时工作很稳定.