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| RESEARCH PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN BY THE FIA INSTITUTE |
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The research work undertaken by the FIA Institute
covers a wide range of motor sport activities and is focused to improve
the safety of competitors, officials and spectators. Current research
programmes include:
Circuit Safety Analysis
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The FIA has developed the Circuit Safety
Analysis System (CSAS) to enable the analysis of speeds at any part
of a circuit allowing the calculation and visualisation of run-off
areas and energy dissipating barrier systems. The data for this analysis
is collected from Accident Data Recorders
installed in-car.
The FIA Institute is working on the continuing development
of the CSAS system to investigate extreme accident trajectories
and accident severity probability for given circuits as well
as accident severity prediction. |
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Circuit debris fencing is of crucial
importance in the protection of circuit personnel and the public.
Both permanent circuit and temporary circuit debris fences have been
modelled and tested when impacted by a car and a wheel.
The FIA Institute
is supporting validation testing to evaluate different fence configurations
to determine if they can provide
enhanced protection. |
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The FIA Institute is developing a database
of accident information from a range of international disciplines
to include photographs, videos and incident reports. The data will
be analysed by leading safety and medical expert Dr Terry Trammel
to determine the causes of injuries in highenergy
impacts.
It is hoped that the analysis of this data will not only
have potential applications in motor sport but could potentially
influence
safety design in motoring. |
Closed Car Occupant Safety
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The FIA Institute is working to improve
the safety of rally car crews and through new research conducted
at the Delphi Laboratory in the United States, is evaluating a number
of measures including neck and head restraints, the optimisation
of seats, harnesses and the general safety of the cockpit environment. |
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It is important for the FIA Institute’s
work on head injury prediction and prevention that the data used
in accident analysis accurately relates accelerations of the head
to those recorded in data recorders in the chassis.
The FIA Institute
is working with the Transport Research Laboratory in the UK to measure
driver head accelerations by using small triaxial
accelerometers in the earpieces worn by drivers. |
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Many of the potentially most severe
impacts in racing occur from high speeds on circuit straights, either
due to component failure at high loads, or car-to-car impacts under
braking. Research has already demonstrated that the energy from a
160kph impact can be safely managed within 5 metres with optimised
barriers and guardrails.
The latest research will assess the management
of car impacts at speeds in excess of 200kph. This work is being
carried out
by DEKRA. |
Helmets For Young Drivers
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The FIA Institute is conducting a new
research programme to develop a safer, lighter and more affordable
helmet designed specifically to meet the requirements of younger
drivers.
It is hoped that this research could lead to a new Certification
Standard for helmet technology |
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