Case Study: Stadler Rail achieves certified crashworthiness and faster development with Dassault Systemes (SIMULIA Abaqus)

Multi-site development with CATIA V5 and ENOVIA SmarTeam

Stadler Rail faced the challenge of proving the crashworthiness, weld and component fatigue performance, and regulatory compliance of its new bi-level KISS commuter car—while keeping weight down and shortening development time. To meet these goals they used Dassault Systemes’ SIMULIA Abaqus FEA (on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform) for detailed virtual testing and certification work.

Using Dassault Systemes’ Abaqus (Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit), Stadler built a 3+ million–element model (≈12 million DOF), ran 45 static load cases, dynamic crash simulations including the 1,500 kN coupler impact, and fatigue analyses (with FEMFAT) validated by physical tests. The simulations showed compliance with European standards (EN 1527, EN 12663‑1), enabled weight optimization, reduced product development time, supported on‑schedule deliveries, and underpinned orders for more than 170 KISS trains.

Stadler Rail

Alois Starlinger

Head of Structural Analysis, Testing and Vehicle Authorization