Impact test of a crash-energy management passenger rail car

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Proceedings of the 2004 ASME/IEEE joint rail conference
• Creators:
  Jacobsen, Karina ; Jeong, David ; Perlman, Benjamin
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.) ; Tufts University
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Accelerometers Collisions Commuter Cars Crash Injury Research Crash Energy Management Crashworthiness Dynamic Structural Analysis Dynamic Tests Energy Absorption Full Scale Impact Tests Impact Tests Measurement Passenger Cars Passenger Compartments Speed Measurement

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  RTD2004-66045
• Resource Type:
  Proceedings
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  American Society of Mechanical Engineers ; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Abstract:
  On December 3, 2003, a single-car impact test was
  
  conducted to assess the crashworthiness performance of a
  
  modified passenger rail car. A coach car retrofitted with a
  
  Crash Energy Management (CEM) end structure impacted a
  
  fixed barrier at approximately 35 mph. This speed is just
  
  beyond the capabilities of current equipment to protect the
  
  occupants. The test vehicle was instrumented with
  
  accelerometers, string potentiometers, and strain gages to
  
  measure the gross motions of the car body in three dimensions,
  
  the deformation of specific structural components, and the
  
  force/crush characteristic of the impacted end of the vehicle.
  
  The CEM crush zone is characterized by three structural
  
  components: a pushback coupler, a sliding sill (triggering the
  
  primary energy absorbers), and roof absorbers. These
  
  structural mechanisms guide the impact load and consequent
  
  crush through the end structure in a prescribed sequence.
  
  Pre-test activities included quasi-static and dynamic
  
  component testing, development of finite element and collision
  
  dynamics models and quasi-static strength tests of the end
  
  frame. These tests helped verify the predicted structural
  
  deformation of each component, estimate a force-crush curve
  
  for the crush zone, predict the gross motions of the car body,
  
  and determine instrumentation and test conditions for the
  
  impact test.
  
  During the test, the passenger car sustained approximately
  
  three feet of crush. In contrast to the test of the conventional
  
  passenger equipment, the crush imparted on the CEM vehicle
  
  did not intrude into the passenger compartment. However, as
  
  anticipated the car experienced higher accelerations than the
  
  conventional passenger car.
  
  Overall, the test results for the gross motions of the car are
  
  in close agreement. The measurements made from both tests
  
  show that the CEM design has improved crashworthiness
  
  performance over the conventional design. A two-car test will
  
  be performed to study the coupled interaction of CEM vehicles
  
  as well as the occupant environment. The train-to-train test
  
  results are expected to show that the crush is passed
  
  sequentially down the interfaces of the cars, consequently
  
  preserving occupant volume.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:915ad43aa149a8b96be585e8d6891a49e43ea760485b752ea3d0555cdb55f8a8f91e13f137ca2d860126706cffd1e53afaeb943913dba00aef720704748477c6
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/9859/dot_9859_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.25 MB ]