Analysis an‎d review of the structure of the bus driverʹs cabin to improve it in case of an accident

10/20/2026 12:00:00 AM

The structural safety of the driver’s cab in railway tra ortation systems, especially during frontal collisions, plays a vital role in protecting the driver’s life an‎d maintaining fleet operation. This study aims to analyze the crash behavior of the railbus cab nose structure based on Scenario 1 of the EN 15227:2020 stan‎dard, an‎d to propose optimized design solutions to improve safety performance. A systematic review of previous research, technical stan‎dards, an‎d international projects such as EUCAB an‎d MODTRAIN identified the main challenges in design, including insufficient impact resistance, energy absorption management, an‎d material selec‎tion. Based on the official technical documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, detailed engineering drawings of the cab nose were used to create a 3D model in SolidWorks software. Two alternative cross-sections for the cab doorstep member were considered: 1. A weak section capable of early plastic deformation for controlled energy absorption. 2.A strong section with high stiffness to preserve structural integrity. Two case studies were conducted to investigate the effects of : 1.section geometry 2.material type. The models were meshed using S4R shell elements an‎d analyzed through dynamic crash simulations in ABAQUS. The results showed that the weak section, by concentrating deformation in the designed area, reduced force transmission to other parts, maintained the cab nose shape, an‎d improved the driver’s survival space. In contrast, the strong section transferred higher forces to the pillars an‎d floor, causing unwanted displacements. The comparative analysis confirmed the superiority of the weak section in protecting the survival space an‎d emphasized the importance of controlled energy-absorbing zones in cab design. It is recommended to use a combination of weak sections in energy-absorbing areas with local reinforcement in main structural parts to achieve both high energy absorption an‎d overall stiffness. The results of this study provide a technical basis for redesigning domestic driver’s cabs, localizing the EN 15227 requirements, an‎d enhancing the safety of railway systems in Iran.

ايمني ريلي، كابين راهبر، تصادف كابين ريل‌باس، استانداردEN 15227، عضو جاذب انرژي، شبيه‌سازي المان محدود، ABAQUS

Railway safety, Driver’s cab, Railbus crash, EN 15227 standard, Energy absorption member, Finite element simulation, ABAQU

Ali Amini

Amin Owhadi Esfahani - Moahammad Ali Rezvani