American Society of Mechanical Engineers

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

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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.

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center