Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model Evaluation

Introduction: Subway–pedestrian collisions are a significant and growing problem, but they are poorly understood. This study presents the first subway–pedestrian collision model with the aim of evaluating the baseline safety performance of an R160 NYC train and track combination and the potential sa...

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Main Authors: Daniel Hall, Kevin Gildea, Ciaran Simms
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/22/10738
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author Daniel Hall
Kevin Gildea
Ciaran Simms
author_facet Daniel Hall
Kevin Gildea
Ciaran Simms
author_sort Daniel Hall
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Subway–pedestrian collisions are a significant and growing problem, but they are poorly understood. This study presents the first subway–pedestrian collision model with the aim of evaluating the baseline safety performance of an R160 NYC train and track combination and the potential safety effects of drainage trough depth. Methods: A baseline simulation test sample of 384 unique impacts (8 velocities (2–16 m/s), 24 positions (standing jumping and lying), and 2 track types (flat and crossties)) was created in MADYMO. The full simulation test sample (N = 1920) included with various depth drainage troughs (0–1 m). Head injuries and wheel and third rail contacts were evaluated. Results: Limb–wheel contact occurred in 60% of scenarios. Primary and secondary contact HIC<sub>15</sub> showed similar high severity, with an HIC<sub>15</sub> < 2000 (88% risk of AIS 4+) in 29% of results for both train and ground contact. Impact velocity strongly influences primary contact HIC<sub>15</sub> with limited effect on secondary contact. Impact velocities between 6 and 16 m/s showed little change in wheel contact. Increasing the trough depth up to 0.5 m showed a decrease in wheel contact probability with little increase in secondary contact. No further benefits were found above 0.5 m. Conclusions: A subway–pedestrian collision model is presented which predicts that wheel–pedestrian contact risk can be reduced with a 0.5 m drainage trough. The model suggests that slower impact velocities may reduce head injury risk for primary contact; however, this will have less effect on injuries caused by secondary and wheel contact.
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spelling doaj-art-a4b1e1de78f249b8b5b780a9c9cc07472025-08-20T02:08:12ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-11-0114221073810.3390/app142210738Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model EvaluationDaniel Hall0Kevin Gildea1Ciaran Simms2Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering and Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Technology & Society, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, SwedenDepartment of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering and Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, IrelandIntroduction: Subway–pedestrian collisions are a significant and growing problem, but they are poorly understood. This study presents the first subway–pedestrian collision model with the aim of evaluating the baseline safety performance of an R160 NYC train and track combination and the potential safety effects of drainage trough depth. Methods: A baseline simulation test sample of 384 unique impacts (8 velocities (2–16 m/s), 24 positions (standing jumping and lying), and 2 track types (flat and crossties)) was created in MADYMO. The full simulation test sample (N = 1920) included with various depth drainage troughs (0–1 m). Head injuries and wheel and third rail contacts were evaluated. Results: Limb–wheel contact occurred in 60% of scenarios. Primary and secondary contact HIC<sub>15</sub> showed similar high severity, with an HIC<sub>15</sub> < 2000 (88% risk of AIS 4+) in 29% of results for both train and ground contact. Impact velocity strongly influences primary contact HIC<sub>15</sub> with limited effect on secondary contact. Impact velocities between 6 and 16 m/s showed little change in wheel contact. Increasing the trough depth up to 0.5 m showed a decrease in wheel contact probability with little increase in secondary contact. No further benefits were found above 0.5 m. Conclusions: A subway–pedestrian collision model is presented which predicts that wheel–pedestrian contact risk can be reduced with a 0.5 m drainage trough. The model suggests that slower impact velocities may reduce head injury risk for primary contact; however, this will have less effect on injuries caused by secondary and wheel contact.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/22/10738pedestrian safetymultibody modellinghead injury risksubway trainrail safetysimulation
spellingShingle Daniel Hall
Kevin Gildea
Ciaran Simms
Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model Evaluation
Applied Sciences
pedestrian safety
multibody modelling
head injury risk
subway train
rail safety
simulation
title Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model Evaluation
title_full Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model Evaluation
title_fullStr Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model Evaluation
title_full_unstemmed Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model Evaluation
title_short Drainage Troughs as a Protective Measure in Subway–Pedestrian Collisions: A Multibody Model Evaluation
title_sort drainage troughs as a protective measure in subway pedestrian collisions a multibody model evaluation
topic pedestrian safety
multibody modelling
head injury risk
subway train
rail safety
simulation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/22/10738
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AT kevingildea drainagetroughsasaprotectivemeasureinsubwaypedestriancollisionsamultibodymodelevaluation
AT ciaransimms drainagetroughsasaprotectivemeasureinsubwaypedestriancollisionsamultibodymodelevaluation