Dynamic load of the carrying structure of an articulated wagon with new draft gear concepts

Abstract

The article deals with a new draft gear concept proposed by the authors to reduce the dynamic load of wagons in operational modes. The peculiarity of the concept is transformation of the kinetic impact energy into the work of viscous resistance forces when the viscous fluid passes through the throttle openings of the piston. The concept can be introduced for the wagons, in which centre sills of the frames are of closed sections. The mathematic modelling was conducted for the dynamic load of articulated wagons with consideration of the draft gear concept. It was established that the use of the draft gear concept can lower the dynamic load of wagons by about 10 %. The research will encourage engineers to design modern structures of rolling stock units and increase their operational efficiency.