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Brake chamber construction allows for a finite stroke for pushrods during brake application. As such, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) mandate maximum allowable strokes for the various chamber types and sizing. Brake strokes are often measured during compliance inspections and post-accident investigations in order to assess vehicle braking performance and/or capability. A number of studies have been performed, and their results published, regarding the effect of brake stroke and function on braking force and heavy truck stopping performance [1] through [4]. All of the studies have relied on a brake supply pressure of 100 pounds per square inch (psi). When brake strokes are measured in the field, following the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) procedure, the application pressure is prescribed to be maintained between 90 and 100 psi.

This paper presents and analyzes braking test data and braking marks for a sport, sport-touring, and cruiser type motorcycle. The best-effort braking tests were performed using three motorcycles, three riders, and three initial speeds. All tests were performed on dry asphalt, with the exception of one set of runs for a sport touring motorcycle on wet asphalt. Three braking strategies were used; front-brake-only, rear-brake-only, and front-and-rear brakes used together. From these data, engineers can evaluate the following effects on braking performance: rider, speed, pavement condition, braking strategy, and motorcycle type. This paper should also serve to assist the vehicle accident reconstructionist in complementing the existing data on motorcycle braking performance.

Determining the biomechanical demand of tasks that involve a wide range of postures typically requires the use of motion capture techniques to accurately measure the range of body positions throughout the task. Although there is obviously motion involved in such tasks, a biomechanical analysis can be performed using quasi-static methods provided the tasks do not involve significant accelerations. One commercial software tool for performing such analyses is the Three Dimensional Static Strength Predictor Program (3DSSPP) produced by the University of Michigan. While the postural data obtained via motion capture methods can be manually input into 3DSSPP, this typically involves either the use of a two-dimensional projection of the three-dimensional visual image to estimate the joint angles, or the user may perform a visual comparison of an actual image of the task with the 3DSSPP image to obtain matching postures in the two programs.

Forensic injury accident reconstruction is used to determine what happened in an accident, typically for use in a court of law. In order to be admitted as evidence in a trial, the analysis must be scientifically sound, and performed utilizing standard scientific methods. The use of motion capture methods for forensic biomechanical applications provides an accurate, scientifically proven technique that has advantages not only due to its technical capabilities, but also in its highly visual manner of result presentation. This paper illustrates the use of a near-infrared motion capture system in two different types of forensic biomechanics applications. In one case, motion capture was utilized to capture externally applied force data and synchronized with the three-dimensional human body posture to perform a musculoskeletal biomechanics analysis.