Case Study: Sharma & Associates, Inc. achieves improved rail engineer safety with Altair ProductDesign

Developing an Innovative New Safety Systems for Rail Vehicles

Sharma & Associates, Inc., a rail and transportation engineering firm, faced the challenge of protecting rail engineers from severe injuries in rare but high-impact train collisions—particularly from unprotected console and cabin furniture impacts. To develop an Engineer Protection System (EPS) that would not be user-triggered or impede egress, Sharma & Associates, Inc. partnered with Altair via Altair ProductDesign and used the HyperWorks simulation suite to model cabin interiors, occupant kinematics, and candidate restraint systems.

Altair ProductDesign designed, simulated, correlated and prototyped an EPS combining automotive-style airbags with a crushable knee bolster, and validated the design with sled tests. Altair’s simulations (HyperWorks/RADIOSS) closely matched physical results—initial ATD response accuracy about 75–85%, improving to 85–95% after model tuning—and the solution met 100% of performance targets while adding minimal cost and weight and not hindering cab egress.

Sharma & Associates, Inc.

Anand Prabhakaran

Vice President