Determining the dynamic loading on an open-top wagon with a two-pipe girder beam

To ensure the structural strength of open-top wagons, it has been proposed to introduce the concept of a traction device that could be implemented in open-top wagons with bearing elements made of round pipes. Feature of the concept is that the console parts of the girder beam are filled with a viscous substance with damping and anticorrosive properties. To convert the shock kinetic energy into the dissipation energy, the concept design includes a piston with two throttle valves (inlet and outlet).In order to determine the dynamic load on the bearing structure of an open-top wagon equipped with a concept design of the traction device, mathematical modeling was performed. A mathematical model of the open-top wagon dynamic load during shunting collision has been constructed. It was considered that the frame of an open-top wagon is exposed to a longitudinal load of 3.5 MN. Differential equations were solved in line with a Runge-Kutta method in the programming environment Mathcad. It was established that the maximum magnitude of acceleration that acts on an open-top wagon, taking the improvement into consideration, is about 30 m/s2. The proposed technical solutions make it possible to reduce the magnitude of dynamic load on a open-top wagon’s bearing structure at shunting collision by 25 %.The software CosmosWorks was used to perform computer simulation of the dynamic load on an open-top wagon. The finite element method was applied as a calculation technique. In this case, maximum accelerations amounted to about 37 m/s2 and were concentrated at the console parts of a girder beam.Adequacy of the developed models of dynamic loading on an open-top wagon’s bearing structure was tested against the Fisher criterion (F-criterion). The optimal number of measurements was defined based on the Student-Gorset criterion. The results from calculation have demonstrated that the hypothesis of adequacy is not rejected.This study will contribute to a decrease in the dynamic load on the bearing structures of open-top wagons in operation, as well as bring down the cost of unscheduled repairs. The current research enables the compilation of guidelines on designing innovative rolling stock with improved technical and economic indicators.