The weight of the car material plays an important role in its performance in terms of fuel efficiency, speed and smoke emission. Especially in hybrid electric vehicles, lightweight materials are important for balancing the weight of its electrical components and also to enhance vehicle speed on account of its comparative low mileage. Nowadays, aluminium, magnesium and Carbon Fibre Reinforced Composites (CFRP) were introduced in making of car body panels since those materials can improve its performance. Yet the material costs, fibre orientation and fabrication techniques in case of CFRP in mass production remains a question. Also, the interior of the car panels was filled with vibration barriers or isolators with considerable thickness which can also add weight to the car. Hence a sandwich structure is presented in this work where the polyurethane foam of higher thickness (core) is bonded between two thin metallic face sheets (skin). The polyurethane foam was chosen as the core because of its low density, porosity and viscoelastic behaviour where it can provide better damping capabilities. Hence, the foam can also help in reducing the volume of internal vibration isolators. Since the car bonnet receives the vibration from sources like aerodynamic exposure to air during travel and mechanical movements within the vehicle (engine operation), it was chosen as the subject for vibration analysis.

This article emphasizes on finite element modeling and simulation of train car body structure in order to ensure a crashworthy structure. Crashworthiness is a principal parameter to be considered to be taken into account in case of design of train car body structure. The present paper deals with the development of virtual prototype with energy absorption capabilities. The train car body structure with trapezoidal core has been modeled using SOLIDWORKS® software. The entire crash simulation in the present study was done by using LS-Dyna® Explicit finite element software. The crash analysis of train car body over a rigid concrete wall was numerically simulated at three different speeds viz. 60 km/hr, 90 km/hr, 120 km/hr. In every crash analysis, the stress plot and history of deformation from the developed virtual prototype. The simulation of the rail vehicle collision presented in this article is based upon the standard specified in crashworthy section of Technical Standards of interoperability. The dynamic numerical simulation of two train car bodies with equal velocities has also performed using LS-Dyna®.

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