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Transport Safety

Alarmed by statistics on transport accidents and deeply concerned with safety improvement, Nowatec work closely with companies developing safe road and air traffic infrastructures in saving lives in the event of an accidental crash.

Road Crash Problem

Every year more than 1.17 million people die in road crashes around the world. Over 10 million are crippled or injured each year.

In Europe the statistics are equally disastrous:

  • 1 300 000 accidents/year
  • Over 40 000 deaths/year
  • 1 700 000 injured/year
  • Direct and indirect cost: €160 billion, or 2% of EU GNP
  • Main cause of death of under 45 year-olds

In order to decrease the number of crash accidents, the European Commission adopted the Road Safety Action Programme (2003-2010) “Halving the number of road accident victims in the European Union by 2010: A shared responsibility”. Within this program it has been proposed that everyone in authority, with decision-making powers, or acting in an economic, social or representative function should give a solemn undertaking and subscribe to a European Road Safety Charter.

The Charter includes the following points: ….

4. To contribute to preventing road traffic accidents by pursuing high-quality actions in one or more of the following areas:

…. infrastructure designed to minimize the risks of accidents …..

5. To develop and implement technologies for reducing the consequences of road traffic accidents.

Air Traffic Safety

Nowadays various types of equipment and structures maintained in airplane operating zone on airports around the world need to carry out demanding safety orders gathered in standard Aerodrome Design Manual, published in 2006 by International Civil Aviation Organization. The manual defines specific types of tests to be performed. The structures have to meet two requirements: suitable strength and stiffness under the wind forces and frangibility in crash conditions.

Nowatec carry out tests of these structures according to the standard using comprehensive FE codes.

Car Crash Simulations

Normally, it is very difficult to predict the strength and behaviour of structures subjected to impacts. Such situations occur for example during a boat impact on an offshore installation or a vehicle impact during road accidents. Structural behaviour during short time accidental impacts depends on the velocity and mass of the impactors and the behaviour of materials under high strain rate responses.

In order to take full account of these phenomena Nowatec use explicit computer codes that allow for the structural and material modelling necessary in the accurate prediction of structural behaviour during impact. We offer our clients numerical crash simulations, which are based on sophisticated models that in many cases can be a substitute to expensive full scale experiments.

   


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