Structural Analysis of a Freight Wagon with Composite Walls

Abstract

<jats:p> The paper presents a numerical study regarding the mechanical response of the body of a freight wagon to the usual loads encountered during service. The main goal of the present research is to investigate the possibility to replace the steel walls of the wagon with walls made of laminated composites. In this way, the total mass of the wagon can be decreased, leaving room for supplementary load of goods. Finite element analyses of the wagon with steel walls is presented first, in order to show that most of the load is taken by the structure of the wagon, while the stresses in the walls are low. Further, composite plates with different thickness are studied to find the minimum value of thickness for which the displacements have values below a certain range. These thicknesses are further considered in the finite element analyses of the entire wagon with composite walls to investigate if the new walls significantly change the stresses in the vehicle structure. It was concluded that the replacement does not alter the stress state in the structure, and, consequently, it is a good solution for diminution of the total mass of the vehicle. </jats:p>

Determining the features of temperature influence on the load-bearing structure of a hopper car with a composite cladding when transporting pellets to metallurgical enterprises

“…The advantage of this study compared to [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] is that the model that we built regarding the strength of the load-bearing structure of a hopper car makes it possible to take into consideration the different materials in the components of its load-bearing structure. This makes it possible to improve the strength characteristics of a hopper car compared to the typical structure during operational load modes.…”

“…Features of the calculation of a freight car with laminated composite walls are described in [10]. The calculation was implemented by using a finite-element method in the Ansys 14.5 software package.…”

“…Our review of literary sources [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] reveals that the issues of improving the strength of vehicles through the introduction of new advanced materials are quite promising and relevant. At the same time, their development in relation to the use in car structures requires further research.…”

Temperature effects on railway rolling stock components

“…The study of the strength of the load-bearing structure of the car made of composite material reinforced with fiber is carried out in [58]. Conclusions on the obtained stress state of the load-bearing structure of the car under shock loads are given.…”

“…The work [79] gives the features of the use of environmentally friendly composites for the manufacture of vehicles for the automotive industry. The results of calculations on the strength of transport means made of this material are highlighted.…”