Ballast rake claw based on BIC-Copula structural reliability analysis

The complex structural configuration of small railway turnout ballast machines is characterized by multiple failure modes with inherent interdependencies. Reliability assessments that consider only single failure modes may lead to inaccurate evaluations. To address this limitation, a novel reliability calculation method incorporating the BIC-Copula model is proposed. Parametric modeling is conducted using ANSYS finite element analysis to assess force distribution and deformation characteristics during the cleaning process. The Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) is employed to guide the selection of appropriate Copula functions. This method effectively overcomes the limitations associated with traditional empirical approaches to reliability evaluation. A comparative analysis between single failure mode and multiple failure mode reliability is conducted. The results indicate that accounting for mode correlations yields lower reliability estimates, with observed discrepancies of 2.52% and 1.42%, respectively. This study provides a valuable reference for improving the accuracy of reliability assessments in complex mechanical structures.