NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway Safety;NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITY;NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Vehicle Design;
Abstract:
The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research and Development is conducting research into fuel tank crashworthiness. The breaching of fuel tanks during passenger
rail collisions and derailments increases the potential of serious injury and fatality due to fire. This paper identifies and describes common collision loading scenarios for locomotive
fuel tanks on the U.S. general railroad system. Developing scenarios that characterize this situation is the first step in crashworthiness research methodology for improving rail
equipment safety. A survey of accidents within the U.S. between 1995 and present was used to identify fuel tank impact scenarios as follows: impact with adjacent railcar component; oblique
impact with another railcar; rollover leading to impact with another railcar; derailment or rollover leading to grounding; and impact with rail. These collision scenarios are further
categorized by the types of collision modes experienced by the fuel tank, i.e. impact type and impact location. These loading conditions establish targets for evaluating current levels of fuel tank integrity and potentially developing improved strategies for enhancing fuel tank integrity.
The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Researchand Development is conducting research into fuel tankcrashworthiness. Fuel tank research is ...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sponsors research on safety topics to address and to improve safety regulations and standards. This paper is...
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[PDF-1.33 MB]
