Fatigue loads for weld examination included damper forces between the car body and the bogie (the wheel, axle and frame assembly, often called a “truck” in the U.S.), traction and braking loads and acceleration loads in all major directions. Once the static analysis was complete, engineers evaluated the Abaqus FEA results using the fatigue strength postprocessor FEMFAT from Magna. “Stadler has used Abaqus for over 10 years for these sorts of simulations,” Dr.
Rail car body design how to#
It is guided by a number of different European rail safety standards, most notably “Crashworthiness requirements for railway vehicle bodies (EN 1527).” A significant portion of those standards defines what portions of a design should be proven out with simulation and how to do it.Ĭentral to that process at Stadler is Abaqus, the finite element analysis (FEA) application from SIMULIA, the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE technology. “Under those circumstances, weld performance is every bit as vital for safety as that of the extrusions themselves.”Ĭrash Energy Management, or CEM, is an extensive part of product development for a new train design. Alois Starlinger, Head of Structural Analysis, Testing, and Vehicle Authorization at Stadler Rail. “There are about 12,000 meters of welds in a railcar,” says Dr. Friction stir welds are applied for the intermediate floor. To ensure strength at the same time, the car body is made from 35 hollow, large-scale aluminum extrusions joined with an incredible number of MIG welds. (“Light weight” is relative-each six-car train weighs 297 tons. (124+ mph) and is a workhorse for train lines in Switzerland and Austria.Īs with all transportation designs, keeping weight light is an important goal. The train runs at speeds up to 200 km/hr. In recent years, they put that expertise to work designing a double-decker commuter train, the KISS (KISS is a German acronym that means “comfortable innovative speedy suburban train”). In the process, they’ve designed and built tailor-made trains, regional, tram, meter-gauge and even bi-level trains. Stadler Rail, headquartered in Bussnang, Switzerland, has been answering these questions (with and without simulation) for over 70 years. In the event of a crash will the welds hold, particularly if the train is in its later years of service? Will the passenger portion of the coach retain its shape? Also important: Will the internal components and assemblies of the passenger area remain in place and be relatively undeformed? While designing a new rail car, the engineers have a significant need for simulation in order to best address safety questions. Engineers (the design kind, not the train-drivers) who want to observe a crash can run perfectly safe, highly accurate virtual collisions on a computer screen. They were so popular that one man, Joe “Head-on” Connolly, staged 73 crashes (destroying 146 trains) between 18 at state fairs and other large venues. In the early 20th century, a strange spectator sport flourished in America: train crashing.
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