Research on the Overriding Phenomenon During Train Collision Based on FEM and MBS Joint Simulation

A simulation strategy based on the coupling finite element analyse and multi-body dynamics are proposed for the research on the overriding phenomenpn during train collision. This simulation strategy can obviously reduce the calculation time and is suitable for railway vehicles in terms of collision simulation, crashworthy design and structural optimisation. According to the simulation results the pitch motions of vehicles are identified as an important factor in the overriding phenomenon during train collision. Besides that, in the reality the differences between two collided trains are inevitable, such as different collision masses, different pitching frequencies and heights of the centre of mass above the rail level. These differences result in asynchronous pitch motions between adjacent vehicles and induce one vehicle to override another vehicle. Moreover, research results indicate that the overriding phenomenon is more sensitive to the variations in pitching frequency and height of the centre of mass, compared with the factor of collision mass.