Search

Copyright of Journal of Wildland Fire Science is the property of Journal of Wildland Fire Science Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The increased utilisation of lithium-ion batteries in the last years does not come without cost. Due to thermal runaway and exothermic degradation reactions, portable batteries pose enormous risks to waste management systems and infrastructure in their end-of-life phase. All over Europe, the number of waste fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are rising. The risk of a battery fire is mainly influenced by the probability and severity of a thermal runaway or exothermic degradation, which depends on the current state of charge (SOC) of the respective battery. In order to determine the distribution of the SOC which is one of the main influence factors to waste fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, 980 waste battery cells were representatively sampled, manually dismantled and analysed using a prototypic laboratory test stand. Approximately 24% of the analysed cells and batteries had a residual SOC of at least 25%, and approximately 12% had a residual SOC of at least 50%. Hence, approximately every fourth to eighth portable battery threatens to cause a waste fire when critically damaged. Furthermore, a distinct relationship between the actual cell voltage and the residual SOC was found for end-of-life portable batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technique of surface impregnation in the vibrated bed for getting ferric sulfuric microcomposites and composite materials on their basis is considered. The industrial safety aspect, namely air protection of the operating space is described.

Copyright of Natural Gas & Oil is the property of Editorial Department of Natural Gas & Oil and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fires in underground spaces are especially relevant due to their potential mortality. However, there is not much research in real-scale spaces done so far. In this study, several fire scenarios were analyzed in an underground drift, taking into account the main environmental variables: airflow, temperature, oxygen, and pollutants. The behavior before and after the fire load was determined, as well as the evolution of the fire over time throughout the drift and its cross-section, finding important trends of the fire based on the airflow–fuel load ratio. Furthermore, the five most representative scenarios were modeled using the fire dynamics simulator (FDS). Results obtained in the simulations, with the adjusted parameters, display a good correlation between simulated and experimental values, being able to extrapolate these values to know the performance of potential fires in other underground spaces or mines. The outcomes could also be a very useful tool to study the effectiveness of possible emergency measures or the potential impact of a fire in this type of environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a composite cooling system including composite phase change material(CPCM) and liquid cooling is designed for battery pack, and the effects of coolant flow rate, battery spacing, thermal conductivity of CPCM, channel number of cooling plate on the safety performance of battery pack under thermal runaway propagation are studied. The results reveal that: (1)Coolant flow rate increase mainly delays the thermal runaway propagation on both sides of cooling plate. When the coolant flow rate is 0.029 m/s, the thermal runaway propagation time through the cooling plate is 32.9s, which is extended by 1.84 times than that at 0.009 m/s (2)Battery spacing increase delays thermal runaway propagation and changes the propagation path. (3)Thermal conductivity reduction of CPCM can significantly delay thermal runaway propagation, because the heat is concentrated in the periphery of the battery and is hard to transfer though CPCM and cooling plate. (4)Compared with other influence factors, channel number of cooling plate has less influence on the overall thermal runaway propagation time. When the channel number is between 5 and 1, the total thermal runaway time changes within 25.5s–27s. The conclusions in this work are helpful to design a safer thermal management system for lithium-ion battery packs. • A novel composite cooling strategy is designed for cylindrical battery pack. • Effects of different factors on the thermal safety of the battery pack are studied. • Thermal runaway propagation path and time of the battery pack are analyzed and obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fires in underground spaces are especially relevant due to their potential mortality. However, there is not much research in real-scale spaces done so far. In this study, several fire scenarios were analyzed in an underground drift, taking into account the main environmental variables: airflow, temperature, oxygen, and pollutants. The behavior before and after the fire load was determined, as well as the evolution of the fire over time throughout the drift and its cross-section, finding important trends of the fire based on the airflow–fuel load ratio. Furthermore, the five most representative scenarios were modeled using the fire dynamics simulator (FDS). Results obtained in the simulations, with the adjusted parameters, display a good correlation between simulated and experimental values, being able to extrapolate these values to know the performance of potential fires in other underground spaces or mines. The outcomes could also be a very useful tool to study the effectiveness of possible emergency measures or the potential impact of a fire in this type of environments.

The radiotherapy process is complex, and there is potential for inappropriate treatment delivery. Human Factors Engineering (HFE) studies interactions between people and systems to improve those relations. Therefore, by using HFE methods, this study analyzes the relations between radiotherapists and their work and limitations in a Brazilian hospital to contribute to hazard mitigation and safety. Results show safety hazards regarding usability and ergonomic issues such as discomfort, distraction, mental fatigue, protocol non-compliance, and errors. That may induce errors of treating the wrong patient, applying radiation to the wrong part of the patient’s body and causing harm. The combination of HFE methods was fundamental to the identification of safety hazards as they involve precisely the multifactorial characteristics of the process, i.e., the relationship among human, technologies, organization, environment and tasks. Hence, safety hazard mitigation depends on everyone involved in the treatment delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction : Despite the advantages of video-based product reviews relative to text-based reviews in detecting possible safety hazard issues, video-based product reviews have received no attention in prior literature. This study focuses on online video-based product reviews as possible sources to detect safety hazards. Methods : We use two common text mining methods – sentiment and smoke words – to detect safety issues mentioned in videos on the world's most popular video sharing platform, YouTube. Results : 15,402 product review videos from YouTube were identified as containing either negative sentiment or smoke words, and were carefully manually viewed to verify whether hazards were indeed mentioned. 496 true safety issues (3.2%) were found. Out of 9,453 videos that contained smoke words, 322 (3.4%) mentioned safety issues, vs. only 174 (2.9%) of the 5,949 videos with negative sentiment words. Only 1% of randomly-selected videos mentioned safety hazards. Conclusions : Comparing the number of videos with true safety issues that contain sentiment words vs. smoke words in their title or description, we show that smoke words are a more accurate predictor of safety hazards in video-based product reviews than sentiment words. This research also discovers words that are indicative of true hazards versus false positives in online video-based product reviews. Practical applications : The smoke words lists and word sub-groups generated in this paper can be used by manufacturers and consumer product safety organizations to more efficiently identify product safety issues from online videos. This project also provides realistic baselines for resource estimates for future projects that aim to discover safety issues from online videos or reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technique of surface impregnation in the vibrated bed for getting ferric sulfuric microcomposites and composite materials on their basis is considered. The industrial safety aspect, namely air protection of the operating space is described.

Objective: To study the safety hazards and investigate the application effect of different transport processes of critical patients in Department of Neurology during intrahospital transport. Methods: 1000 patients with nervous system diseases in Department of Neurology who needed intrahospital transport from January 2010 to December 2014 were selected as the research objects and they were randomly divided into control group and observation group with 500 cases each group. The patients in control group were given with conventional transport, and the patient in observation group were accepted with system transport, then the safety hazards rates and all steps qualified rates of two groups were compared. Results: The total rate of safety hazards of observation group was obviously lower than that of control group, and the qualified rates of all steps were all higher than those of control group, and the differences of two groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: The system transport can effectively improve the steps qualified rate in all transported steps and control the safety hazards of critical patients in Department of Neurology during intrahospital transport, so its application value is relatively higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faults in automated systems will often result in undesired behavior and shut-down of the processes. The consequences of these could be damage to the plant, to personnel and resources, or even to the environment. In particular, in the case of natural disasters, faults are often inevitable. The objective of the methods for fault-tolerant control (FTC) is to prevent simple faults turning into severe failure. Therefore, FTC methods help to increase plant availability and to reduce the risk of safety hazards. However, these methods cannot be effective if sufficient redundancy does not exist in the system. A measure for control reconfigurability which reveals the level of redundancy in connection with feedback control is proposed in this paper. The proposed control reconfigurability measure is developed in particular for many applications in which one is interested in analysis and control within a frequency-interval. Compared to the other counterparts, the proposed measure encodes more information on the level of redundancy within the frequency-interval of interest. An illustrative example is given to show the computation of frequency-interval control reconfigurability and its relevance to redundant actuating capabilities in the models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a numerical investigation of gaseous deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) triggered by a shock in a multi-bend geometry. The ethylene-air mixture filled rigid tube with obstacles is considered for understanding the effects of complex confinement and initial flame size on DDT. Our calculations show generation of hot spots by flame and strong shock interactions, and flame propagation is either restrained or accelerated due to the wall obstacles of both straight and bent tubes. The effect of initial flame size on DDT in complex confinement geometry is analyzed as well as the hot spot formation on promoting shock–flame interaction, leading to a full detonation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research identifies and tests key factors that can be associated with time to recall a product. Product recalls due to safety hazards entail societal costs, such as property damage, injury, and sometimes death. For firms, the related external failure costs are many, including the costs of recalling the product, providing a remedy, meeting the legal liability, and repairing damage to the firm''s reputation. The recent spate of product recalls has shifted attention from why products are recalled to why it takes so long to recall a defective product that poses a safety hazard. To address this, our research subjects to empirical scrutiny the time to recall and its relationship with recall strategies, source of the defect and supply chain position of the recalling firm. We develop and verify our conceptual arguments in the U.S. toy industry by analyzing over 500 product recalls during a 15-year period (1993–2008). The empirical results indicate that the time to recall, as measured by difference between product recall announcement date and product first sold date, is associated with (1) the recall strategy (preventive vs. reactive) adopted by the firm, (2) the type of product defect (manufacturing defect vs. design flaw), and (3) the supply chain entity that issues the recall (toy company vs. distributor vs. retailer). Our results provide cues that could trigger a firm''s recognition of factors that increase the time to recall. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Marine stingers hospitalize approximately 100 people annually in tropical Australian waters, and are known to have caused at least 73 fatalities. Elsewhere in the tropical and temperate seas of the world, marine stingers pose a similar threat to human safety, and reported sting numbers are on the rise. Lycra body suits ("stinger suits") have been used for stinger protection since the early 1980s, but have not been formally tested as a barrier against Irukandji (Carukia barnesi) tentacles. Other products are being used and developed; however, no safety standards currently exist for this widely used form of protective equipment. Eight products were tested with live C. barnesi: a Lycra stinger suit used by Surf Life Saving, a product developed by ROBIS Pty. Ltd. and marketed as "The Stinger Suit", three different styles of nylon pantyhose, two sport products designed to "wick away" moisture and keep the wearer cooler, and a 0.5-mm neoprene wetsuit. Products were evaluated for seven common concerns relating to safety and practical wearability. Primary concerns, i.e., those relating to performance of the fabric in preventing stings, include: ease of penetration by jellyfish tentacles, adherence of tentacles or body to fabric, and potential for crushing through the fabric. Secondary concerns, i.e., those relating to overall usage as stinger-preventative clothing, include: durability or integrity of the barrier, whether the product is available as a one-piece garment, heat-retention properties, and product cost. In general, the tighter the fabric weave, the better tentacle exclusion, and the smoother the fabric, the more resistant to adherence. Lycra is vulnerable to crushing of tentacles through the fabric, but appears to be the best choice for routine-use stinger-protective clothing. Recommendations are made for safe use of protective clothing, as a basis for development of an Australian Standard in protective clothing for marine stinger safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cases presented here are an unrecognized source of accidental asphyxia—compression of the neck by barbells. Two cases of traumatic asphyxia due to this preventable hazard occurred in a 5-year period in central New York. There have been at least 11 similar deaths reported to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and cataloged in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between 1999 and 2002. A petition filed in 2003 with the CPSC-proposed mandatory labeling of bench presses to make consumers aware of this hazard, but was denied. This report looks at the deaths that have occurred due to this unrecognized safety threat and provides pertinent advice to make bench-pressing a safer activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theme of the paper is the detection of through-valve leakage by vibration analysis. Experiments have been performed which demonstrate that a valve leaking internally excites the downstream pipework at particular frequencies in the range below 20 kHz. Several frequencies are excited. However, of note is that certain frequencies appear to depend only on the internal diameter of the pipe and the properties of the gas leaking through the valve. The results of extensive experiments are presented and an empirical relationship is suggested to predict the frequencies excited by the leakage. Thus, there is potential for the use of this method in a valve condition monitoring system to augment the range of methods presently available, none of which find widespread application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study adopted immersive virtual reality to gauge safety performance. • The immersive experiments covered hazard recognition, analysis, and reaction. • Task mode and time pressure were adopted as two independent variables. • Double tasking mode increased individuals' cognitive load. • Time pressure is a double-edged sward for task performance. Digital technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) are gaining momentum in its use to implement and deepen construction health and safety education. In this study, researchers first developed a VR-driven immersive system incorporating real construction site hazard scenarios. Immersive experiments were then conducted by recruiting 40 individuals in construction-related disciplines. Experimental data were collected to evaluate the effects of tasking mode and time pressure on individuals' cognitive load in performing virtual site tasks. The self-evaluation method and task performance-based data were adopted as the complementary ways to measure individuals' cognitive load in completing given tasks. Compared to the single tasking mode of solely focusing on site hazard recognition, analysis, and reaction, the added secondary task was found significantly increasing individuals' cognitive load and lowering task performance. Time pressure could be a double-edged effect depending on the task feature. Recommendations were provided for real site safety management in balancing employees' wellbeing and site productivity. The current study extends prior research on enhancing construction health and safety where the main focus has been on hazard detection but now incorporates also hazard analysis and reaction. It also leads to more future research such as measuring individuals' cognitive load in a real site environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]