Implications of the inline seating layout on the protection of occupants of railway coach interiors

Marta Isabel Pimenta Verdete da Silva; Jorge Alberto Cadete Ambrósio; João Filipe de Almeida

Informações chave

Autores:

Marta Isabel Pimenta Verdete da Silva (Marta Isabel Pimenta Verdete da Silva Carvalho); Jorge Alberto Cadete Ambrósio (Jorge Alberto Cadete Ambrósio); João Filipe de Almeida (João Filipe de Almeida Milho)

Publicado em

2011

Resumo

The aim of this work is to present a systematic approach to the improvement in the passive safety in railway interiors. During the primary collision, the vehicle is subjected to an abrupt deceleration, causing the unrestrained occupants to continue their original motion. The occupants are then projected through the vehicle until the secondary collision occurs, i.e., until they come in contact with some part of the interior of the vehicle or with other occupants. Due to its importance, in terms of railway vehicle interiors, the inline seating is investigated with the objective of identifying the potential sources of injury for railway occupants and suggesting directions for the improvement in interior arrangements. The numerical model of this layout is developed using a multibody description for the dummies and a finite element approach for the seats and structural features of the vehicle interior. The crash scenario is studied using the MADYMO code, for which models of the dummies are already validated and which has all features necessary to handle finite element and multibody models in a common simulation environment. The crash pulse used for the virtual testing corresponds to that accepted by the industry and operators as being representative of the most relevant accidents. Of particular importance is the identification of the relevant injuries for this type of scenario and their variability with occupant size and seating position. It is shown here that depending on the type of fixing of the seat to the railway coach, the position of the occupant can play a role in his/her exposure to injury. Furthermore, it is shown that the injuries in the neck region occur in those occupants who exhibit higher risks. Femoral injuries, not being as severe as neck injuries, also have a high potential to develop for the scenarios considered.