Item: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UIAA 157 STANDARD FOR AVALANCHE RESCUE PROBES
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Title: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UIAA 157 STANDARD FOR AVALANCHE RESCUE PROBES
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2023, Bend, Oregon
Authors:
- Manuel Genswein [ MountainSafety.info ] [ UIAA ]
- Davide Rogora [ Club Alpino Italiano ]
- Vittorio Bedogni [ UIAA Safety Commission ] [ Club Alpino Italiano ]
Date: 2023-10-08
Abstract: In 2013, the UIAA Safety Commission has decided to develop standards for avalanche rescue equipment such as avalanche rescue shovels and avalanche rescue probes. Previously, no standards to ensure minimum performance, reliability and durability existed. 18 commercially available probes have been tested in the laboratory to establish a comprehensive, quantitative understanding of their characteristics and to be able to identify a wide range of possible failure modes. The following laboratory tests have been carried out for evaluation purposes: 4 points bending of the interface between two adjacent segments, 3 points bending over the total length of the probe and axial elongation. In order to identify the practically relevant failure modes, a large-scale field test database with multiple user groups in multiple countries has been built up. Besides the identification of failure modes, the pull force applied by companion and organized rescuers in the mounting process of the probe has been quantitatively determined. This value is critical as it sets the pretension of the probes for the laboratory tests, for example when determining axial stiffness and elongation. The analysis of the data has shown that it is possible to identify critical weaknesses of a probe based on the 3 points bending and axial elongation tests, thus reducing the overall qualification process costs for the manufacturers. The laboratory testing as well as the field testing has clearly shown that already a slight increase of probe diameter dramatically improves the bending stiffness in the practical handling. This reflects the fact that flexural inertia increases in power four to the increase of diameter. Therefore, the minimum diameter for a probe to fulfil the UIAA SafeCom 157 standard has been set to 11mm. The minimum required length of 240cm has been determined based on accident data and the required length the probe shall protrude out of the debris to allow ergonomic probing. In order to optimize the balance between the required penetration effort and the safety of the buried subject, the shape of the tip of the probe in terms of minimum tip radius and aspect ratio between tip length and probe diameter has been defined. The requirement for the last segment of the probe to be in a distinctively different color is motivated by the fact that it allows to excavate the buried subject with maximum speed and impact of the shovel without triggering hesitation to injure the buried subject as long as the color coding of the probe does not indicate immediate proximity to it. Other design and ergonomic requirements include a metric scale printed on the probe.
Object ID: ISSW2023_P2.62.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Manuel Genswein
Keywords: UIAA safety label, avalanche rescue probe, product standards, material testing
Page Number(s): 1009 - 1012
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