Citation

Simons JW, Kirkpatrick SW. Int. J. Crashworthiness 1999; 4(2): 121-132.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A mathematical approach has been developed for crashworthiness analyses of train sets that are practical to perform using desktop workstations. The approach is organised into three steps. First, a detailed model of the train car is developed and the response of the car is calculated for various collision scenarios. Results of this first step highlight the response mechanism of the car and provide data on the crush strength of the car over a range of responses. The second step uses the crush response of the detailed model to develop simpler models that can be used to study the collision dynamics between cars. Using these simpler models allows calculation of the response of a set of several train cars in a collision or derailment scenario and includes interactions between cars. These calculations show how much crush each car experiences and provide velocity histories for different locations along the train set. The third step is to use the velocity histories for the cars to calculate the response of an occupant in the train. For this step, two procedures are described. First, a crash dummy and a few seats are modelled in detail and a simplified model is used for the surrounding car structure. Velocities are applied to the car structure and the secondary impact response of the occupant with the adjacent seats is calculated. Injury measures such as the head injury criterion (HIC) are obtained from the calculated acceleration records of the occupant head. The second procedure estimates injury by using relationships between secondary impact velocity, HIC, and injury. Examples of calculations for each of these steps are shown to illustrate this approach.

Language: en