Alternative analyses of locomotive structural designs for crashworthiness

PDFProceedingsCrashworthinessLocomotivesRailroad safetyLocomotive engineersCollisionsRailroad grade crossingsRailroad trainsStructural designImpactPerformance evaluationsNorth AmericaUnited States. Federal Railroad AdministrationMartinez, EloyTyrell, DavidJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)NTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-RAIL TRANSPORTATIONNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Rail SafetyNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Railroad Highway Grade CrossingsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-AccidentsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Vehicle DesignVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterEnhanced crashworthiness performance of North American locomotives is proposed by both increasing the design loads on specific structural components or by describing the crashworthiness performance under specific impact conditions. The design loads for a conventional NorthAmerican locomotive and the description of performance are intended to provide the same level of crashworthiness protection. A generic design was developed to illustrate the types of calculations that can be used to show that the design loads can be supported and the desired level of performance can be met. The performance of the generic locomotivesubjected to a collision with a grade crossing object is measured by its ability to prevent penetration of the object into the occupied volume where the crew rides out the collision. The closed form hand calculations apply established structural analysis limit load theory and show the design loads can be supported. The finite element analysis results capture large deformation non-linear behavior and show the desired level of performance is achieved