Features of Locomotive Adhesive Mass Utilization in a Braking Mode

The magnitude of a locomotive's traction and braking forces is directly related to its adhesive mass, which largely determines its tractive and braking characteristics. Therefore, an important task is to maximize the utilization of the locomotive's adhesive mass. The degree of adhesive mass utilization is determined by more factors and is quantitatively characterized by the Adhesive Mass Utilization Coeffi-cient (AMUC). One of the ways to increase the AMUC is to improve the locomotive's lever-type brake transmission. In braking mode, it interacts with the wheelsets and the bogie frame and may block the operation of the first stage of the suspension system. This research presents the results of a mathematical model-based study of the influence of certain parameters of the lever brake transmission on the utilisation of locomotive adhesive mass in braking mode. The calculations were carried out for various values of the vertical stiffness of the brake transmission. The results indicate that the distribution of vertical loads across the locomotive's wheelsets in braking mode significantly depends on the vertical stiffness of the brake transmission.