Proceedings of 2009 ASME Joint Rail Conference

AGR-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITY ; NTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-RAIL TRANSPORTATION ; NTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Rail Safety ; NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Rail Safety ; NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Vehicle Design ; NTL-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT-Hazardous Materials Transportation ;

The Government and industry have a common interest in improving the safety performance of railroad tank cars carrying hazardous materials. Research is ongoing to develop strategies to maintain the structural integrity of railroad tank cars carrying hazardous materials (hazmat) during collisions. This paper describes engineering studies on improved tank car concepts. The process used to formulate these concepts is based on a traditional mechanical engineering design approach. This approach includes initially defining the desired performance, developing strategies that are effective in meeting this performance, and developing the tactics for implementing the strategies. The tactics are embodied in the concept. The tactics and concept evolve through engineering design studies, until a design satisfying all of the design requirements is developed. Design requirements include service, manufacturing, maintenance, repair, and inspection requirements, as well as crashworthiness performance requirements.

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