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Crashworthiness Analysis
ARA performs both testing and high-fidelity simulations of road, rail, and air vehicles to improve occupant safety in the event of a crash. The ARA office in Silicon Valley, California, has been designated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as a Center of Excellence (COE) in finite element crash analysis.
The COE conducts crashworthiness research on roadside safety structures and geometric features using the finite element code LS-DYNA. The inaugural project for the ARA COE is in partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop new bridge rails with improved aesthetics that maintain crash performance.
In addition to vehicles, our analyses include models of right-of-way structures, roadside hardware, lightweight fragment barriers for protection from catastrophic aircraft engine failures, and models of occupants. We also develop models of high-speed train aerodynamics and resulting pressure loads on adjacent rail vehicles.
ARA is currently working with a rail crashworthiness research team in the Structures and Dynamics Division at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to conduct model simulations for single car tests of multi-level equipment. The primary tasks for this project include modifying and running existing car model with LS-DYNA for pre-test predictions and analyzing test data and conducting vehicle postmortem.
ARA recently completed a study for the National Academies to develop Crash Energy Management (CEM) performance requirements for Light-Rail Vehicles (LRV). The primary objective of this research was to provide technical assistance to enable the ASME RT-1 committee and its CEM subcommittee to determine reasonable performance requirements for dynamic crash behavior for LRV-to-LRV collisions based on a CEM approach that minimizes the probability of injury and fatality for a range of LRV designs under various high-risk collision scenarios. As a secondary objective, the ASME RT-1 committee and its CEM subcommittee seek information and guidance on the technical feasibility and practicality of CEM zones to mitigate damage and human injury in roadway vehicles during LRV-roadway vehicle collisions. This research will support the current ASME RT-1 effort to develop an ASME structural safety standard for LRV's.
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ARA team performs crash analyses of existing and modified designs for trains, vehicles, buildings using crash testing modeling and simulations.
Showcase Projects
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