Pre production crash testing

[Zontar]

There's lots of new stock appearing at the moment and just had a thought about what/how crash testing goes on?
With cars you see them simulating crashes etc with the crash test dummies flying round...do they do specific front end (or any end for that matter) crash simulation during the design and build stages?

 

[colchesterken]

I hope they do!

 

[edwin_m]

There used to be a test rig in British Rail Research that applied forces to structures, and they were even done for real on a test track occasionally. As well as the famous nuclear flask test, there was one on Tomorrows World that demonstrated the value of "crumple zones" in end-on collisions* and recently Vivarail did a simulated level crossing crash with their D-train. I think these days however, most manufacturers use computer simulations.

*At about the time TPWS and other safety initiatives made end-on collisions much less likely!

 

[swt_passenger]

There’s a post in a short thread here after the Leeds 800 accident:

Destructive Testing

Following on from the incident in Leeds which may or may not have revealed issues with the design and or crashability of the 800s are new designs put through the sort of destructive tests that other vehicles do? Obviously cars go through things like the Euro NCAP tests, airliners get wings...

www.railforums.co.uk

which explains that Hitachi did crash test a front end to check their modelling was correct.
I get the impression you won’t normally see a whole train or unit tested, but physical tests of the collision structures will take place in laboratory conditions rather than out on a test track.

 

[pcrail]

Typically, only the front end is crash tested ... and this mostly only to demonstrate that the calculation was correct. European crash standard is defined in EN 15227.
It requires the calculation of four crash cases:
1. head impact of similar vehicles at a speed of 36 km/h (22 mph)
2. head impact on a freight wagon of 80 metric tons (79 long tons; 88 short tons) at a speed of 36 km/h (22 mph)
3. impact on a lorry at a grade crossing at a speed of 110 km/h (68 mph)
4. impact on a smaller object like a car at a grade crossing.

In all cases, there must remain a defined space in the cab, which is not affected from the crash. This is some sort of survival zone.

The most difficult case to fulfil is normally case 3. The modelled lorry has the characteristics of a concrete mix truck with a very high centre of gravity at about the height of the train driver. This is the reason, why vehicles fulfilling EN 15227 have these characteristic massive A pillars around the cab window.

All modern vehicles are fitted with anti-climbers, which avoid, that rail vehicles start to raise in case of a crash. This is very dangerous, since the vehicle staying on the ground slits up the floor of the risen vehicle and there is almost no survival chance in the upper vehicle.