Equivalence study involving rail vehicle collision test conditions

Abstract

In the context of rail vehicle collision tests, which incur high costs and consume substantial time and energy, the equivalence between a single vehicle crashing into a rigid wall and two identical vehicles colliding with each other was studied. Taking the car body as a rigid body, a three-dimensional multi-body dynamic model was built to simulate a single-vehicle impact and a collision between two identical vehicles; the results showed that the condition of a single vehicle crashing into a rigid wall at a speed of v/2 can be used to replace the condition of one vehicle moving at a speed of v and crashing into an identical vehicle that is stationary. However, the actual collision is a strong nonlinear process, and it is necessary to conduct the equivalent test of the condition of collision. Based on the similarity theory, the scaled equivalent vehicle model is established. Through a series of scaled model tests, the following conclusion is drawn: if one vehicle moving at a speed of vcrashes into another identical vehicle that is stationary, one can equivalently use a single vehicle with a speed of v'= 0:5248v + 0:1608 (units: m/s) that crashes into a rigid wall. This study provides practical support for the equivalence of vehicle collision test conditions and holds great value for engineering applications.