Optimization of DH4-1 Pardis Trainset Crashworthiness by Utilizing Thin Walled Energy Absorbing Tubes

This article is about optimization of the crashworthiness of DH4-1 Iran Pardis Trainset. It is based on the proposals that are practically applicable through domestic capabilities. In order to improve performance of the structure during impact and to increase its energy absorption the use of thin walled tubes in a variety of scenarios are investigated. Amongst the many possible collision scenarios, the case of impact with other moving rolling stocks is exercised. The selected impact scenarios1 are recommended by EN 15227:2008+A1:2010 Standard. LS-DYNA 3D engineering software is used for the dynamic modeling of the railcar and simulation of the crash. Verification of the modeling is by using ECE R 66 standard. Design parameters such as the absorbed energy ratios and the hourglass energy are calculated and reported accordingly. It is proven that by using proper absorbing elements it is possible to delay the shock and considerably reduce the size of the shock load to the structure.

Keywords:

Crashworthiness , Tarinset nose , Thin walled tube , Energy absorption , LS-DYNA 3D