Justification of the use of square pipes in the frame of the removable roof of the open wagon

Abstract

This paper reports determining the basic strength indicators for the removable roof of a railroad gondola. It has been established that the typical roof design has a significant margin of safety in the components of the supporting structure. In order to reduce the roof material intensity, the reserves of its strength have been determined and optimized based on the criterion for minimal material intensity. Pipes of square cross-section have been proposed for using as the components of the roof frame. When taking into consideration the proposed measures, it becomes possible to reduce the mass of the frame of the removable roof for a railroad gondola by almost 15 % compared to the typical design. At the same time, to apply the roof on different types of gondolas, its cantilevered parts can move in a longitudinal plane. It is possible to use deflectors on the removable roof. The roof can be attached to the body in a regular way. It is also possible to fix it using shog-connections. To substantiate the proposed solution, the strength of the improved structure of the removable roof was determined. It was established that the maximum equivalent stresses in the load-bearing structure of the removable roof did not exceed permissible ones. To define the indicators of removable roof dynamics, its dynamic loading was investigated. The calculation was performed in a flat coordinate system. The oscillations in bouncing and galloping were taken into consideration as the most common types of a railroad car oscillations when running on a rail track. The mathematical model of dynamic loading was solved in the Mathcad software package (Boston, USA). The study has shown that the acceleration of the body in the center of masses is 0.4 g and is within the permissible limits. At the same time, the ride of a railroad car is excellent. The study reported here would contribute to the improvement of the efficiency of railroad transportation.