Comparison of Energy Absorbing Members for Passenger Coaches
AbstractIn order to prevent fatalities and injuries in the accidents occurred in railway transportation, crash zones were developed at the front and back ends of the coaches. These crash zones are aimed to absorb the kinetic energy in a controlled manner and protect the health of the passenger and the structure of occupied areas in the coach. The primary energy absorber is one of the most important components of the system and is able to absorb an impact energy of about 1.3MJ. In this study, deformation behaviours of tube like structures with square and circular cross sections under the axial impact load were investigated by means of finite element analysis. The investigated tube like structures are the same size and weight and have five different wall thicknesses. At the end of the study, the performances of square and circular sections were compared in terms of energy absorption capacities and average deformation forces