Stadler Rail KISS Railcar Crash Simulation Using Abaqus FEA

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Stadler Rail KISS Railcar Crash Simulation Using Abaqus FEA

Case study showing how Stadler Rail used Abaqus FEA to validate crashworthiness and fatigue performance of the KISS bi-level railcar against EN 15227 and EN 12663-1 standards.

Published

June 4, 2026

Read time

3 min read

Source

Stadler Rail applied Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit to perform static, fatigue, and dynamic crash analyses on a 3-million-element model of the KISS railcar. The work covered 45 global load cases, weld fatigue using the notch-stress approach, and four collision scenarios including head-on impact. Results were validated with full-scale physical testing at over 140 strain-gauge locations, confirming compliance with European rail safety requirements while reducing weight and shortening development time.

Key takeaways

Abaqus FEA enabled detailed modeling of 35 aluminum extrusions, 12,000 m of welds, and over 1,000 fasteners in a 3-million-element railcar model.

Static analyses confirmed the coupler sustained 1500 kN compression with minimal deformation per EN 12663-1.

Fatigue evaluation with FEMFAT using IIW and FKM data verified 40-year service life of critical welds.

Explicit dynamic crash simulations of the energy-absorbing module matched physical test deformation results.

Simulation iterations reduced product development time while meeting all EN 15227 crashworthiness requirements.

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