Crashworthiness design of detachable cab

In this paper a conceptual detachable freight cab is designed to improve competitive capability of railway freight transportation by the formation of push-pull trains. The cab module is attached to the freight wagon with a beam fixed into the draw gear position after removal of the coupler, which is relocated at the front of cab module. Two side anti-climber buffers are fixed in the front of cab. A finite element model composing of the detachable cab and a supposed wagon is built. According to European Standard EN 15227, three crashworthy scenarios are simulated in LS-DYNA. The results of absorbed energy, forces, velocities, accelerations and deformations are assessed. It is proved that the crashworthiness design of the conceptual detachable cab is feasible.