Fatigue Analysis of Draw Gears in Freight Trains

The majority of freight trains are characterized by a braking system that does not guarantee synchronous braking between different wagons. This results in the generation of considerable in-train forces during emergency braking operations, which are sometimes imposed by the railway infrastructure due to certain running speeds being exceeded. The magnitude of in-train forces is contingent upon a number of factors, the most significant ones being the length, mass and load composition of the trainset, in addition to the specific braking imposed. The application of excessive compressive in-train forces has the potential to cause the wagon to derail, particularly if the wagon is lightweight and traversing a small radius curve. Similarly, excessive tensile in-train forces applied to the screw couplers can cause them to fail, typically through fatigue, resulting in train disruption and necessitating the recovery of both portions of the trainset. The objective of this study is to perform a preliminary analysis of the UIC (International Union of Railways) unified screw couplers fatigue phenomenon, employing load spectra computed by the UIC 1.4.6 software TrainDy. A possible future development is developing a maintenance model functional to predict the extent of damage in freight wagon screw couplers during their service life.