Full-Scale Shell Impact Test of a DOT-105 Tank Car [Research Results]

Federal Railroad Administration2019PDFBriefUnited States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and DevelopmentJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)Transportation Technology Center, Inc.United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and DevelopmentUnited StatesCrash testsFinite element methodPuncture resistanceTank carsValidationImpact testsHazardous materialsfinite element analysisFEAmodel validationRR 19-04Gonz\ue1lez, III, FranciscoResearch ResultsOn August 1, 2018, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) conducted a full-scale shell impact test of a DOT-105A500W (DOT-105) tank car at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, CO. The shell of the car was struck at its mid-length by a 297,000 pound ram car equipped with a 6-inch by 6-inch impactor. An objective of conducting this test was to collect data that can be used to verify and/or validate results from finite element analyses (FEA) as part of a framework for comparing the puncture resistance of various tank car designs. The data from this test will be publicly available to facilitate their use in future model validation activities in a full Technical Report (under review). The tank car was filled to 89.4 percent of its capacity with water. The car was pressurized to ~100 psi, which is a typical in-service pressure for this type of tank car. Based on pre-test FEA, the target test speed was set between 9.5 and 10 mph so that puncture was a likely outcome. The actual impact occurred at 9.7 mph. This speed corresponds to an impact energy of approximately 1 million foot-pounds of energy. The tank was punctured after an indentation of 27 inches, at a peak force of ~840,000 pounds. Based on review of the test measurements, the impactor slowed to less than 1 mph when puncture occurred, confirming the model prediction that an impact speed of 9.7 mph only slightly exceeds the speed necessary to puncture this tank car.119