Comparison of Methodologies for Finite Element Model Validation of Railroad Tank Car Side Impact Tests

Details

• Creators:
  Eshraghi, Shaun ; Carolan, Michael E. ; Perlman, Benjamin ; Gonzalez III, Francisco
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and Development
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Finite element method
  • Impact tests
  • Tank cars
  • Shells (Structural forms)
  • Validation
  • Simulation
  • Engine displacement
  • Fluid mechanics
  • Highways
  • Performance
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  VVS2020-8822
• Resource Type:
  Proceedings
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Abstract:
  The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has sponsored a series of full-scale dynamic shell impact tests on railroad tank cars. For each shell impact test a pre-test finite element (FE) model is created to predict the overall force-time or force-displacement histories of the impactor, puncture/non-puncture outcomes of the impacted tank shell, global motions of the tank car, internal pressures within the tank, and the energy absorbed by the tank during the impact. While qualitative comparisons (e.g. the shapes of the indentation) and quantitative comparisons (e.g. peak impact forces) have been made between tests and simulations, there are currently no standards or guidelines on how to compare the simulation results with the test results, or what measurable level of agreement would be an acceptable demonstration of model validation.
• Content Notes:
  This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/55786/dot_55786_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 976.69 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center ; Federal Railroad Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6d8ea7a974ec5dd4e46cf30000b2d37ffae1a48ddb01dc426d1c5721ac37866104d7ef43449a1fa82a2b1f8dc9f30f4a96d595fa6b0413aaeca7b3c69bef352a