PROTECTION ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS LLC — Department of Transportation SBIR Phase II: 171FR3

Description

Proposal title: Resilient Wayside Structures to Reduce Severity of Passenger Equipment Collisions and Derailments Additional passenger fatalities/injuries can occur during derailments involving interaction with wayside structures. Analogously, automobile fatalities often result from interaction of vehicles with roadside structures; personnel hazard reduction is a key design criterion for roadside structures. A similar approach for railroad wayside structures can be followed by incorporating damage mitigating features into new designs and retrofits of existing wayside structures. During Phase I, a risk study was first conducted to identify 3 wayside structures that pose a relatively high damage/injury risk to commuter railcars and passengers: bumper stops, catenary poles, and barrier wall discontinuities. Damage mitigation concepts were then devised and feasibility established through high-fidelity numerical modeling. While all proposed concepts were deemed viable and effective, the most promising concept was determined to be a catenary pole breakaway capability. Phase II research will focus on establishing proof-of-concept and developing preliminary design guidance for the catenary pole breakaway connection. This will be achieved through an experimental test program involving static slip tests, static lateral load tests, and dynamic impact tests, and complemented with additional high-fidelity numerical modeling of both a catenary pole and entire OLE support structure. A roadmap for market delivery will also be identified through the development of a robust commercialization strategy.