• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.57-66
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• 2015

PURPOSES: Nighttime driving is very different from daytime driving because drivers must obtain nighttime sight-distances based on road lights and headlights. Unfortunately, nighttime driving conditions in Korea are far from ideal due to poor lighting and an insufficient number of road lights and inadequate operation and maintenance of delineators. This study is conducted to develop new standards for nighttime road visibility based on experiments of driver perception for nighttime visibility conditions. METHODS : In the study, perception level and satisfaction of nighttime visibility were investigated. A total of 60 drivers participated, including 34 older drivers and 31 young drivers. To evaluate driver perceptions of nighttime road visibility, fuzzy set theory was used because the conventional analysis methods for driver perception are limited in effectiveness for considering the characteristics of perception which are subjective and vague, and are generally expressed in terms of linguistic terminologies rather than numerical parameters. RESULTS : This study found that levels of nighttime visibility, as perceived by drivers, are remarkably similar to their satisfactions in different nighttime driving conditions with a log-function relationship. Older drivers evaluated unambiguously degree of nighttime visibility but evaluations by young drivers regarding it were unclear. CONCLUSIONS : A minimum value of brightness on roads was established as YUX 30, based on final analyzed results. In other words, road lights should be installed and operated to obtain more than YUX 30 brightness for the safety and comfort of nighttime driving.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.57-61
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• 2011

The bimodal tram was designed to drive on the dedicated track as well as on the public road. The position and speed are automatically controlled on the dedicated track by the onboard computer, whereas they are manually controlled by driver like motor vehicles on the public road. The ride comfort the passengers feel and the effect of the vibration generated during driving on the passenger's health, comfortableness and motion sickness were evaluated with driving the bimodal tram prototype in automatic and manual mode, respectively. The test was done in automatic mode on the test track with various load conditions while it was done in manual mode on the public road with empty load.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.115-123
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• 2010

Cool-down performance after soaking is important because it affects passenger's thermal comfort. The cooling capacity of HVAC system determines initial cool down performance in most cases, the performance is also affected by location, and shape of panel vent, indoor seat arrangement. Therefore, optimal indoor designs are required in developing a new car. In this paper, initial cool down performance is predicted by CFD(computational fluid dynamics) analysis. Experimental time-averaging temperature data are used as inlet boundary condition. For more reliable analysis, real vehicle model and human FE model are used in grid generation procedure. Thermal and aerodynamic characteristics on re-circulation cool vent mode are investigated using CFX 12.0. Thermal comfort represented by PMV(predicted mean vote) is evaluated using acquired numerical data. Temperature and velocity fields show that flow in passenger's compartment after soaking is considerably unstable at the view point of thermodynamics. Volume-averaged temperature is decreased exponentially during overall cool down process. However, temperature monitored at different 16 spots in CFX-Solver shows local variation in head, chest, knee, foot. The cooling speed at the head and chest nearby panel vent are relatively faster than at the knee and foot. Horizontal temperature contour shows asymmetric distribution because of the location of exhaust vent. By evaluating the passenger's thermal comfort, slowest cooling region is found at the driver's seat.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 2018

In this research, the psychological and physiological reactions of the driver were measured during winter to evaluate thermal comfort. The experiment was conducted using 3 different cases which are hot air heating, warm-wire seat heating and hot air & warm-wire seat heater operating simultaneously. With regard to psychological reaction, the warm-wire heating mode was the most preferred. The reason is that it is dry in other cases. With regard to EEG response, thermal comfort increased by 37% in warm air mode heating. In addition, when the warm-wire heating mode and the hot air & warm-wire heating mode were simultaneously operated, the thermal comfort continuously increased by between 17% and 20% for 20 minutes after boarding. Under the change of the autonomic nervous system, the thermal stress level increased by 23% after 15 minutes on board in the hot air heating mode and decreased continuously by 13% during the warm-wire seat heating mode. We recommended the hot air heating mode is only used for a short time to raise the inside temperature during the early boarding period and that warm-wire seat heating mode be actively utilized.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.619-624
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• 2004

This paper applies the fuzzy logic controller to a semiactive seat suspension system in order to obtain the better ride comfort in constraint of specific rattle space. The seat suspension system used for this research is a scissors-type one with the MR (Magnetic Rheological) fluid damper. Since a seat suspension system with a driver can not be exactly modeled, it is effective to control with the fuzzy logic controller. The rule was carefully tuned to effectively reduce the vibration transmitted to a driver. The on-road ride was realized on a hydraulic excitor and the result shows that the fuzzy controller has reduced the vibration of a seat suspension system compared to the continuous skyhook controller.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.228-233
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• 2007

This paper presents the case studies on the friction related wears of an automotive tire, which is strongly connected to the safety and comfort of a driver during a running of a car. Wear scars of a tire tread are affected by various causes such as an air pressure, a wheel alignment, a driving speed, road conditions, starting and braking habits of a driver. The data were collected from used tires for a replacement at the car service center. Most of the wear problems came from the improper repair and adjustment of revolving components, which cause an unbalanced wear of a tread part of a tire. Thus, the regular checking of a tire radically reduces the wear scars of a tire and may increase a driving safety and a fuel economy of a car and a wear life of a tire.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.30 no.10 s.253
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• pp.1276-1283
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• 2006

This study proposes two ESP systems which are designed to enhance the lateral stability of a vehicle. A BESP uses an inner rear wheel braking pressure controller, while a EBESP employs an inner rear wheel and front outer wheel braking pressure controller. The performances of the BESP and EBESP are evaluated for various road conditions and steering inputs. They reduce the slip angle and eliminate variation in the lateral acceleration, which increase the controllability and stability of the vehicle. However EBESP enhances the lateral stability and comfort. A driver model is also developed to control the steer angle input. It shows good performances because the vehicle tracks the desired lane very well.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2016

Brake judder is one of the most serous problems in automotive-brake systems.it has not been eradicated despite all the efforts that many researchers and engineers have made the reduce it by studying its causes and mechanisms. Brake discs play a significant role in judder.The driver experiences judder as vibrations in the steering wheel,brake pedal and floor.in the higher freqency range.the structural vibrations are accompanied by a sound. Brake judder primarily affects the comfort but could,when confronting an inexperienced driver for the first time,lead to faulty reactions and reduced driving safety.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.575-584
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• 2010

The aim of study is to suggest the design procedure of automobile headlamp by considering driver's experience in regard of the visibility and glare during nighttime driving. The characteristics of driver were investigated in terms of the drivers' cognitive ability and reaction time, headlamp specification and visibility, light source and glare. And, the degree of visual discomfort was categorized and recognized as a tool to represent the subjective user experience. The UX point of view was stated when the existing results were seemingly lacking of it. The visual comfort and safety of elderly drivers were also discussed by reviewing the studies of ageing regarding the visibility and driving responses. Finally, this study suggested how to reduce the negative effect of nighttime driving due to the height of headlamp, angle of lighting, color spectrum, discomfort glare, source of light by using the UX perspective and methodology.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.131-137
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• 2009

Recent technological advances made a vehicle more intelligent to increase safety and comfort. An intelligent vehicle provides drivers with safety warning information through audible sounds, visual displays, and tactile devices. However, elderly drivers have been known to decrease the physical and cognitive abilities such as muscular strength, hearing, eyesight, short term memory, and spatial perception. Therefore, possible age-related deficits should be considered to design an effective warning system. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of advancing age on response performance on audible safety warnings which are widely used for alerting driving hazards. In order to understand the effect of age-related hearing loss and movement slowing, three sound characteristics (frequency, intensity, and period) and three age groups (younger, middle, and older) are considered. Data was drawn from 38 drivers who drove a simulated rural road in a driving simulator. Experimental results show that age influences driver's response performance. In conclusion, the appropriate range of a warning sound is suggested.