Prototype design of a collision protection system for cab car engineers - fabrication and test.

Details

• Creators:
  Prabhakaran, Anand ; Singh, Som P. ; Vithani, Anand R.
• Corporate Creators:
  Sharma & Associates, Inc.
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Passenger trains
  • Crashworthiness
  • Locomotive engineers
  • Cabs (Vehicle compartments)
  • Occupant protection devices
  • Air bags
  • Energy absorption
  • Prototype tests
  • Sled tests
  • Railroad crashes
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FRA/ORD-15/20
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and Development
• Abstract:
  Advancements in the structural crashworthiness of passenger rail cars now make it possible to preserve the compartmentalized ; space occupied by a cab car engineer during a train collision. In order to translate this additional protection into improved ; survivability and mitigate injuries, it is necessary to protect the engineer from secondary impacts in such accident scenarios. Prior ; work on this issue resulted in the design of a conceptual Engineer Protection System (EPS) that could protect an engineer under ; moderate-to-severe frontal impact conditions. ; The performance of this prototype EPS, which consists of an airbag and a deformable knee bolster system, was successfully ; demonstrated under simulated collision conditions, using a dynamic sled test for a 95th percentile anthropomorphic test device ; (ATD). The test highlighted the ability of the EPS to protect a cab car engineer in a moderate-to-severe train collision, meeting all ; design criteria, including compartmentalization and limits of injury to the head, neck, chest, and femur, and continuing to the meet ; all functional requirements. The system functions without requiring input from the engineer, without restraining him or her, and ; without impeding egress, while adding minimally to cost or weight of the car.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28976/dot_28976_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.02 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Railroad Administration ; University Transportation Centers ; US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e7780a8f549bb7373af0a60bc8883a786bca285a97da1d88b5cf8d848a031c05e59d994253487f80905ecb0319a76d7744e81188181247f0fead153ae603c945