Analysis of train driver protection in rail collisions: Part II. Design of a desk with improved crashworthiness performance
Résumé
This two-part paper described the results of the research programme PROCAB (French acronym for PROtection CABine) for train driver protection in rail collisions. In the part I, virtual and physical testing were developed to predict the train driver dynamics and related injuries due to secondary impact with cabin furniture. The conclusion was that the desk represented a hostile secondary impact environment for the locomotive engineer by inducing severe thoracic injuries. Part II included the design, fabrication and testing of an improved command desk. The concept selected was a movable rigid desk with energy-absorbing aluminium honeycomb to slow the desk motion, coupled with knee bolsters. A prototype of the protection device was fabricated and evaluated in a dynamical sled test under a 5 g, 0.1 s deceleration pulse. Preliminary results demonstrated the effectiveness of this concept in reducing the thoracic injury risk without increasing risk in another area (head, neck, chest, femurs and tibias).