An Estimation of the Severity of Passenger Injuries Seated on a Longitudinal Seat in a Train Accident and Measures to Mitigate Harm Using Numerical Simulation

Abstract

It is of vital importance to enhance on-board passenger safety in the event of a train collision. In order to design the interior fittings to reduce passenger injury levels, it is necessary to examine the probability of such injuries. The purpose of this study is to grasp the severity of injuries suffered by occupants of longitudinal seats and to consider mitigation measures using FEM simulation. For this simulation, bench-end partitions were modeled on the basis of an FEM model. It was found that passengers seated on a longitudinal seat with a high risk of injury were those seated second-furthest and third-furthest away from the bench-end partition and that the severity of head injury decreased significantly with the presence of handrails.