Dirk Kok

Immobilisation of the knee and ankle and its impact on drivers’ braking times: A DRIVING SIMULATOR STUDY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of right leg restriction at the knee, ankle or both, on a drivers braking times. Previous studies have not investigated the effects of knee restriction on braking performance. A total of 23 healthy drivers performed a series of emergency braking tests in a driving simulator in either an above-knee plaster cast, a below-knee cast, or in a knee brace with an increasing range of restriction. The study showed that total braking reaction time was significantly longer when wearing an above-knee plaster cast, a below-knee plaster cast or a knee brace fixed at 0°, compared with braking normally (p < 0.001). Increases in the time taken to move the foot from the accelerator to the brake accounted for some of the increase in the total braking reaction time. Unexpectedly, thinking time also increased with the level of restriction (p < 0.001). The increase in braking time with an above-knee plaster cast in this study would increase the stopping distance at 30 miles per hour by almost 3 m. These results suggest that all patients wearing any lower-limb plaster cast or knee brace are significantly impaired in their ability to perform an emergency stop. We suggest changes to the legislation to prevent patients from driving with lower-limb plaster casts or knee braces.

Converter simulation using SimPowerSystems a comparison of drive cycles and control strategies

This paper describes the setup of a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converter simulation using Matlab / Simulinks SimPowerSystems (SPS). The simulation is set up to focus on full drive cycle simulation to be able to visualize the effects of a control strategy on a drive cycle over time. The aim of these simulations is to compare the effects of different control strategies and to introduce a modular control strategy. A modular control strategy is proposed and tested and the effects of the control strategies are described and discussed. The load factor of the battery current is calculated to look for improvements in smoothness.

Novel EV drive train topology — A review of the current topologies and proposal for a model for improved drivability

The use of Direct Current to Direct Current (DC-DC) converters in Electric Vehicles (EV) drive trains allows for optimal combination of a power source complementing an energy source. Various topologies have been analysed and compared for their best features. A set of parameters has been created, based on which a new topology has been developed. The new topology is modular and allows for redundancy while improving driveability and has the potential to reduce cost of the drive train, by increasing the life expectancy of the energy sources.