Preliminary Finite Element Analysis of Locomotive Crashworthy Components Available to Purchase

The Office of Research and Development of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Volpe Center are continuing to evaluate new technologies for increasing the safety of passengers and operators in rail equipment. In recognition of the importance of override prevention in train-to-train collisions in which one of the vehicles is a locomotive, and in light of the success of crash energy management technologies in cab car-led passenger trains, the Volpe Center seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of components that could be integrated into the end structure of a locomotive that are specifically designed to mitigate the effects of a collision and, in particular, to prevent override of one of the lead vehicles onto the other. A research program is being conducted that aims to develop, fabricate and test two crashworthy components for the forward end of a locomotive: (1) a deformable anti-climber, and (2) a push-back coupler. Preliminary designs for these components have been developed. This paper provides details on the finite element models of the crashworthy components and how the component designs behave in the finite element analyses. The component designs will be evaluated to determine if the requirements have been met, such as the energy absorption capability, deformation modes, and force/crush characteristics.