Full-Scale Shell Impact Test of a DOT-113 Tank Car Surrogate
On June 11, 2020, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) conducted a full-scale shell impact test (Test 11) of a surrogate DOT-113 specification tank car at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, CO. This test was the second DOT-113 impact test in a planned series of four. A DOT-113 is a double-walled tank car (i.e., tank-within-a-tank) designed to transport authorized cryogenic liquids by rail. The test “surrogate” was purpose-built for this test with the essential features of a DOT-113 and an outer tank of a thicker, higher-grade steel than required by specification. The tested surrogate did not feature all the equipment required of a tank car (e.g., couplers and trucks). The shell of the outer tank was struck by a 297,000-pound ram car equipped with a 12-inch by 12-inch impactor at its mid-height and longitudinally offset 2 feet towards the A-end. This offset impact location was intended to be consistent with the impact location in the previous DOT-113 impact test in November 2019 (Test 10).