Details:

Alternative Title:
Proceedings of the 2013 ASME/IEEE/ASCE Joint Rail Conference, April 15-18, 2013, Knoxsville, TN
Creators:
Jacobsen, Karina ; Llana, Patricia ; Carolan, Michael ; Sullivan, Laura
Jacobsen, Karina ; Llana, Patricia ; Carolan, Michael ; Sullivan, Laura Less -
Corporate Creators:
John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
Corporate Contributors:
United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and Development
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Crashworthiness Finite Element Method Fuel Tanks Impact Tests Load Tests Static And Dynamic Tests Static Tests Structural Analysis
Publication/ Report Number:
JRC2013-2425
Resource Type:
In Proceedings
Geographical Coverage:
United States
Corporate Publisher:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers ; American Society of Civil Engineers ; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineers ; American Society of Civil Engineers ; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Less -
NTL Classification:
NTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Rail Safety;NTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-RAIL TRANSPORTATION;NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Vehicle Design;NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITY;NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Rail Safety;
Abstract:
The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research

and Development is conducting research into fuel tank

crashworthiness. Fuel tank research is being performed to

determine strategies for increasing the fuel tank impact

resistance to mitigate the threat of a post-collision or postderailment

fire. In accidents, fuel tanks are subjected to

dynamic loading, often including a blunt or raking impact from

various components of the rolling stock or trackbed. Current

design practice requires that fuel tanks have minimum

properties adequate to sustain a prescribed set of static load

conditions. Current research is intended to increase

understanding of the impact response of fuel tanks under

dynamic loading. Utilizing an approach that has been effective

in increasing the structural crashworthiness of railcars,

improved strategies can be developed that will address the

types of loading conditions which have been observed to occur

in a collision or derailment event.

U.S. rail accident surveys reveal the types of threats fuel

tanks are exposed to during collisions, derailments and other

events. These include blunt impacts and raking impacts to any

exposed side of the tank. This research focuses on evaluating

dynamic impact conditions for fuel tanks and investigating how

fuel tank design features affect the collision performance of the

tank. Research activities will include analytical modeling of

fuel tanks under dynamic loading conditions, dynamic impact

testing of fuel tank articles, and recommendations for improved

fuel tank protection strategies.

This paper describes detailed finite element analyses that

have been developed to estimate the behavior of three different

fuel tanks under a blunt impact. These analyses are being used

to understand the deformation behavior of different tanks and

prepare for planned testing of two of these tanks. Observations

are made on the influence of stiffeners, baffles, and other

design details relative to the distance from impact.

This paper subsequently describes the preliminary test

plans for the first set of tests on conventional passenger

locomotive fuel tanks. The first set of tests is designed to

measure the deformation behavior of the fuel tanks with a blunt

impact of the bottom face of the tanks. The test articles are fuel

tanks from two retired EMD F-40 locomotives. A blunt impact

will be conducted by securing the test articles to a crash wall

and impacting them with an indenter extending from a test cart.

This set of tests is targeted for late summer 2013 at the

Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado.

Both blunt and raking impact conditions will be evaluated

in future research. Tests are also being planned for DMU fuel

tanks under dynamic loads.


Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
Volpe
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:3233c772892a8f01c25741054ea432914a8375d33c170807a3b691852e61f980
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/11996/dot_11996_DS1.pdf
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