Innovative Emergency Passenger Window System for Rail Vehicles

This project will develop an improved emergency passenger window design to facilitate egress and rescue. Two innovative concepts are proposed, each of which addresses many limitations of currently available window systems. One utilizes an embedded low-friction cable which contracts the gasket, assisted by internal mechanical energy storage. The other uses a low energy pyrotechnic cord completely embedded in the window gasket to sever it in a controlled way. Both enable the window to be deployed outward instead of inward, aiding passenger egress. On the basis of tradeoffs and inputs from window suppliers, one of the concepts will be frozen in Phase I and detailed engineering will be performed for the fabrication of a prototype and demonstration in Phase II.