Ensuring fatigue strength of connecting beams of four-axle bogies of multi-axle wagons

Introduction. From the experience of operating multi-axle wagons with four-axle bogies in their design, it is known that the majority of failures in operation occur on the connecting beams. The object of the study is the connecting beam of a four-axle truck of a freight car. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of transverse transshipment of the car body on the service life of the connecting beam. Analysis of the work on the strength and load of connecting beams in ope ration was carried out, which shows that the main mode of damaging effects in operation, leading to the destruction of connecting beams, is the transverse transshipment of the car body.Materials and methods. The amplitudes of dynamic stresses were estimated using the finite-element method in the ANSYS software environment. The stress amplitudes in the connecting beam were evaluated according to standardised loading modes without considering transshipment, and the stress amplitudes from the transverse transshipment of an eight-axle cistern car were separately evaluated.Results. The fatigue strength of the connecting beam was assessed, considering the transshipment of the car body during movement. The results of comparative calculation of the service life of the connecting beam are obtained, depending on the consideration of the transverse transshipment of the car body using the example of an eight-axle cistern car.Discussion and conclusion. The service life of the connecting beam of an eight-axle cistern car is calculated according to standardised loading modes, including and excluding the transverse transshipment of the body. The research shows that the service life of the beam, estimated without considering the transverse transshipment of the car body, does not correspond to statistical and experimental data.