This experiment was carried out to grasp the effect of glaucoma on car driving. Nine patients with glaucoma took part in this study. Critical situations inducing particular traffic accidents were presented by using a driving simulator. It was found that for glaucoma patients, if a pedestrian appeared from the area where their visual field is impaired, their response time to the pedestrian was delayed. In addition, a negative correlation between driver reaction time and visual field test results (MD value) was found. Therefore, there is a possibility that impact of the glaucoma on car driving in a particular traffic scene might be variable in response to the MD value.

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The effect of carbon monoxide (CO) near the upper limit (0.2 ppm) prescribed in the ISO14687-2 on the performance of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) was investigated in a hydrogen circulation system. A single cell with a membrane electrode assembly of low platinum loading (0.1 mg cm-2) and thin membrane (15 μm) was operated under constant current and load cycle conditions. The cell voltage was decreased with the increase of current density under the constant current condition due to CO poisoning. The decrease of the cell voltage at 1000 mA cm-2 was mitigated after the load cycle was from 25 mA cm-2, compared with that at a 1000 mA cm-2 constant. These results suggest that the CO adsorption amount on Pt/C electrocatalyst is decreased as current density decreases.

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Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), which are expected to play an important role in the future have been significantly researched. To fill FCVs, hydrogen stations conforming to the SAE TIR J2601, which states the effective protocol of hydrogen filling, are being developed. Hydrogen 'fast filling', which is required at hydrogen stations for user convenience, induces a rapid increase of gas temperature inside the tank. Therefore, supplied hydrogen gas is cooled down to approximately -40°C to restrict the gas temperature rise. However, it is reported that the connection between the nozzle of the hydrogen dispenser and the receptacle of FCVs freezes due to the cooled hydrogen. The freezing of the connection makes it difficult to remove the nozzle from the receptacle. In this study, the effect of water inside the nozzle on the freezing of the connection was investigated. It was found when 500 μl of water is on the inside of the nozzle, freezing is induced.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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