Passenger and Crew Environments

Named Investigators: Prof Michael Griffin (University of Southampton); Prof Kenneth C Parsons (Loughborough University)Researchers: Dr Henrietta Howarth, Mr Martin Toward (University of Southampton); Miss Lisa Kelly (Loughborough University)
Industry Collaboration and Mentors: AEA Technology Rail; Alstom; Bombardier; Network Rail; Porterbrook; RSSB; Virgin

Background:
Current methods of evaluating the physical environment of passengers and crew are of variable quality. While some methods used in the rail industry reflect up-to-date knowledge others do not. In some cases alternative conflicting standards are in use with differences between the alternative methods and conclusions. In other areas, there is no clear guidance. Even when guidance exists, those needing the knowledge can find it difficult to locate and interpret.

Project C1 defined a facility for reproducing the internal environment of railway carriages, including noise, vibration and thermal environment. This simulator is available for use in project C5. Project C1 also developed draft ‘design guides’ to convey information to industry. During Project C5, the design guides will be further developed.

Summary of Research Methods:
Systematic laboratory studies of passenger and crew responses to individual physical stressors (noise, motion, thermal, seating, etc.) relevant to the rail environment, laboratory studies of the combined effects of more than one physical stressor, the development of design guides, and the conduct of selected field trials.

Original Project Scope and Objectives:
The main aim of the project is to improve understanding of human response to the physical environment of passengers and crew in trains and to make this information available to the industry.

The project involves the use of the simulator to test and improve existing methods so as to provide guidance for the measurement, assessment and evaluation of the physical environment with respect to seating, vibration, motion sickness, noise, thermal and visual environments. The research includes the study of the relative importance of motion, noise, and the thermal environment in trains and the interactions between these environmental factors.

Some individual laboratory studies are being designed in the areas of thermal stress and vibration where the rail environment presents specific challenges (e.g. unilateral heat loads, and use of computers). The design guides are being continually developed and extended, partly to reflect growing knowledge and partly in response to industry needs.

During the project, the simulation facility will be available for the study of specific questions raised by the rail industry. Field studies will be conducted where they are considered the best means of obtaining information on passenger or crew responses to the train environment.

Work Done:

Simulator design finalised September 2006
Simulator cabin completed December 2006
New building completed April 2007
Simulator installation 2007
Acceptance of the simulator under principal specification completed December 2007
Draft design guides circulated for comment September 2006
Studies of effects of vibration on passenger operation of keyboard devices completed 2007
Laboratory studies in a solar simulation chamber and practical evaluations in trains for the provision of a practical model for the prediction and assessment of thermal comfort.

Work Remaining:

Optimisation of the new simulation facility will be conducted during early 2008 leading to a demonstration of its capability of reproduce ranges of noise, vibration, and thermal conditions relevant to railways. The final commissioning and acceptance under the full specification is expected to be completed in March 2008. Future work using the simulator will seek to provide methods of measuring, evaluating, and assessing the measured or predicted environment in current and future railway carriages so as to identify passenger and crew reaction (discomfort, interference with activities, motion sickness, and safety) and means of minimising such adverse reactions.

Specific investigations to be conducted during the coming months are laboratory experimental studies of the equivalence between noise, vibration, and thermal conditions, and field measurements of motion in rail vehicles. The laboratory studies will involve reproduction of rail vehicle vibration on the simulation facility. The findings will be employed to determine the relative importance of the different environmental factors on passenger comfort. The expertise and facilities will also be applied to railway-induced noise and vibration in buildings. In addition, the design guides are being developed to reflect growing knowledge and in response to industry needs.

Outputs:

Poster from RRUK Workshop 2008
Presentation from RRUK Workshop 2008
Griffin, M. J., (2007) Discomfort from feeling vehicle vibration, Vehicle System Dynamics, 45:7, 679 – 698.
Joseph, J.A. and Griffin M.J. (2007) Motion sickness from combined lateral and roll oscillation: effect of varying phase relationships. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine; 78:944 – 50.
Morioka M. and Griffin M.J. (2007) Magnitude-dependence of equivalent comfort contours for fore-and-aft, lateral and vertical whole-body vibration. Journal of Sound and Vibration 298 (2006) 755–772.
Qiu Y (2007) A seat-occupant model for the prediction of backrest transmissibility in the fore-and-aft direction. 42nd UK Conference on human responses to vibration, Southampton 10th – 12th September.
Toward M.G.R. (2007) Effect of subject characteristics on apparent mass. 42nd UK Conference on human responses to vibration, Southampton 10th – 12th September.