The constructive improvement of the passive safety of train systems is subject of this paper. The objective of the work reported here is to develop a detailed final design of a crash energy management system that can be installed into an existing passenger coach car and subjected to a full-scale collision test. Such systems, incorporating crush zones in vehicle ends, have been applied to passenger cars around the world, and have been shown to be highly effective in protecting car occupants from injury in a collision. Elements in the program are to develop and evaluate strategies for the proposed system, prepare and analyse a preliminary design, fabricate and test critical components of the design, and finalize the design in the light of test and analysis results. The end product will be detailed drawings for a design ready to be fabricated and installed on the selected test vehicle. The requirements for the crash energy management system were developed in recognition of the vehicles and trains that have been designed throughout the world and on the prevailing philosophy of passive protection. Thus, the system includes three elements. These are: a pushback coupler and an interlocking anti-climber to ensure that the underframes of interacting vehicles transfer load through their primary load-bearing structure; and a zone at the end of the car designed to crush and absorb energy in a controlled manner without endangering the occupant volume. Based in part on this review, a goal for the energy absorption of the coach car end was set at 3.4 MJ in 0.9 m of crush. One of the challenges of the reported project is the need to incorporate the design crush zone into an existing and, likely, aged vehicle. In this case the load paths and approaches to connecting the crush zone to the vehicle are limited. These disadvantages are offset by the advantage of substantially reducing the cast of the program and providing a demonstration of the feasibility of incorporating these types of systems into conventional North American construction.
The development of a rail passenger coach car crush zone
Die Entwicklung verformbarer Sektionen für Schienenfahrzeuge zum Personentransport
2002
8 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 1 Quelle
Conference paper
English
The development of a rail passenger coach car crush zone
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