Evaluation of occupant volume strength in conventional passenger railroad equipment : a thesis submitted by Michael E. Carolan

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Evaluation of occupant volume strength in conventional passenger railroad equipment
• Creators:
  Carolan, Michael E.
• Corporate Creators:
  Tufts University
• Contributors:
  Perlman, A. B.
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Collisions Compression Tests Finite Element Method Load Factor Design Load Tests Finite Element Method Materials--Compression Tests Occupant Protection Devices Passenger Cars Railroad Accidents Railroad Cars Railroad Passenger Cars Structural Analysis Structural Analysis (Engineering)

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• Resource Type:
  Thesis
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Tufts University
• Abstract:
  To ensure a level of occupant volume protection, passenger railway
  
  equipment operating on mainline railroads in the United States must currently be
  
  designed to resist an 800,000 pound compressive load applied statically to the
  
  underframe. An alternative manner of evaluating the strength of the occupied
  
  volume is sought that will ensure the same level of protection for occupants of the
  
  equipment as the current test but will allow for a greater variety of equipment to
  
  be evaluated.
  
  A finite element (FE) model of the structural components of the railcar has
  
  been applied to examine the existing compressive strength test and evaluate
  
  selected alternate testing scenarios. Using simplified geometry and material
  
  properties in the model, the gross behaviors of the railcar are captured without
  
  excessive processing time. This simplified modeling technique was used to
  
  construct FE models of a generic single-level railcar and an exemplar multilevel
  
  railcar.
  
  Both models can be interpreted to have some single beam-like behaviors.
  
  In each model, the existing compressive load results in a significant bending
  
  moment as well as the prescribed compressive load. The alternative load cases
  
  examined demonstrate that a larger total compressive force may be distributed
  
  across the end structure of the railcar and result in similar stress levels throughout
  
  the structural frame as are observed from application of the conventional proof
  
  load.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:96f4c24c1fb1a05057dca1ae6459846a549607b0d60fb8421a86bf2b22fb80e7a7afe5dca6ad5d13a43f4477987fa3651cae22fac0c90fb458404c255b02173e
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/10034/dot_10034_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.35 MB ]