Railroad passenger car collision analysis and modifications for improved crashworthiness

In study, crashworthiness assessment and suggestions for the modification of a railroad passenger car are presented. To assess the crashworthiness, collision of the railroad passenger car onto a rigid wall is simulated by using finite element (FE) methods. A full-length, detailed passenger car model is used in FE analyses. In order to validate the FE model, simulation results obtained for different types of static loading conditions in compliance with various scenarios defined in UIC CODE OR 577 are compared with experimental measurements before running collision analyses of the railroad passenger car. The good agreement between static tests and FE analyses results indicates that the FE model accurately represents the real structure. Following the FE model validation, analysis of the collision behaviour of the railroad passenger car consists of two stages. In the first stage, the crashworthiness of the initial concept design of the railroad passenger car is analysed. It was observed that local buckling takes place at various points, which prevents the desired progressive damage behaviour in the railroad car body. Having revealed the structural weaknesses, the initial design was modified and simulated again under the same conditions. Using size optimisation, thickness of some sheet metal components is changed in order to obtain the intended progressive damage behaviour. As a result of the modifications, the passenger car design with better crashworthiness properties was obtained, in which large plastic deformations occur around the collision side of the car while mainly elastic deformations occur in the car's body away from the bumpers.