An Assessment of the Crashworthiness of Existing Urban Rail Vehicles. Volume III: Train-Collision Model Users Manual

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Centerhttps://doi.org/10.21949/15268741975PDFTech ReportSegal, David J.Calspan CorporationJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Urban Mass Transportation AdministrationUnited States. Urban Mass Transportation AdministrationUnited StatesCollisionsCrash injury researchCrashworthinessDesignEnergy absorptionForecastingCrash testsInjuriesMathematical modelsPassenger carsPassengersRailroad carsRapid transitRapid transit carsResearchSafetySafety equipmentStandardsStructural analysisStructural engineeringTransportation safetyUrban transportationVehicle designDOT-TSC-UMTA-75-21.IIIThe crashworthiness of existing urban rail vehicles (passenger cars) and the feasibility of improvements in this area were investigated. Both rail-car structural configurations and impact absorption devices were studied. This final report issued under the crashworthiness effort covers: (1) The development of analytical tools to predict passenger threat - environment during collision; (2) criteria for predicting passenger injury due to train collisions; (3) an application of injury criteria and analytic models to predict passenger injuries resulting from collisions of trains that represent existing construction types; (4) a preliminary investigation of applying impact absorption devices to transit vehicles; (5) a design study of car structural configurations for improved impact energy management; (6) a review of engineering standards for Urban Rail Car Crashworthiness. The report consists of three volumes.138