In order to assess the occupant protection performance of rail vehicle interiors, a non-destructive evaluation technique has been developed for Bombardier Transportation, as part of the OPERAS research project. The technique uses an Injury Classification system, based on the occupant's potential severity of injuries, to assess their overall injury level, ability to egress the rail vehicle and requirement for immediate medical treatment. The injury severity is predicted by evaluating the occupant's body parts that impact interior features, then calculating the impact velocity and applying the appropriate injury criteria. The impact velocity is calculated from a rail vehicle velocity/displacement profile, which in the case of the evaluations conducted, used the Rail Vehicle Crashworthiness acceleration profile in Proposed European Crashworthiness Standard prEN12263. In order to ensure accurate and repeatable occupant location measurements, a prefabricated geometric representation of a 50 % HIII crash test dummy, 'Perspex Percy' was developed to be used in fully equipped rail interiors. Three rail vehicle interiors have already been assessed using the technique, highlighting areas of both peer and good occupant protection, which has lead to improvements in the performance of individual features and interior layouts. The evaluations have also assisted in developing rail vehicle interior design guidelines for occupant protection in Bombardier Transportation, for use by interior layout designers and component engineers to optimise rail vehicle interiors for occupant protection without compromising occupant comfort, interior aesthetics or passenger numbers.
Occupant protection and egress in rail systems (OPERAS) - Development of evaluation techniques for rail interior occupant protection
Insassenschutz und Ausgang bei Schienenfahrzeugen - Entwicklungs- und Evaluierungstechniken zum Insassenschutz bei Schienenfahrzeugen
2003
10 Seiten, 4 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 3 Quellen
Conference paper
English
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