Investigation of the train driver injuries and the optimization design of driver workspace during a collision

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze train driver injuries under secondary impact and to optimize the driver workspace to reduce the driver impact injury risk. The console–seat–dummy collision analysis model of train cab is established using MADYMO. The driver dynamic impact response and the driver injury results were obtained from the collision model. The optimization of driver workspace parameters was conducted to reduce the driver injury risk. Fifteen samples were chosen for numerical simulation based on the optimal Latin hypercube design; the polynomial response surface methodology was adopted to fit the relationship between the driver injury criteria and the workspace parameters. The driver injury results show that the driver injury is considerably severe. The optimization results indicate that the driver injury is minimal when factors A, B, C, and D are 356.6 mm, 404.6 mm, 145 mm, and 200 mm, respectively. Compared with the initial collision model, all six driver injury criteria after optimization decrease obviously and are well within the tolerance limits, respectively. The analysis of the optimization results and the results of computer simulation refined after the optimization confirm that the optimization results show good correlation with the injury results of the collision numerical model and the effectiveness of the optimization design in reducing the severity of the driver injury during a secondary impact.