About the influence of antisymmetric permanent strain of the wagon bogie frame on traffic safety

To increase the speed of the cargo delivery, freight wagons are being developed, intended for the design speed of 140 km/h. One of the important parts of a freight wagon is the bogie, the design of which determines the wagon dynamic behaviour. The bogie of such wagons uses a frame of a rigid design, which is susceptible to antisymmetric loads. The analysis of standards has shown that the strength test during designing a rigid bogie frame under the impact of maximum antisymmetric forces that may occur in operation when a wheel derails is not required, which can lead to a residual antysymmetric deformation of the bogie frame. Theoretical research is performed to estimate the impact of the residual antisymmetric deformation on traffic safety using the wheelset safety factor against derailment. The research results have shown that the bogie frame residual deformation leads to a load redistribution on the wheelset axle journal, which, in terms of the impact on the wheelset safety factor against derailment, is similar to the wagon rolling motion. The wagon rolling motion affects the reduction of the wheelset safety factor against derailment to a greater extent than oscillations during pitching and bouncing. Thus, the permission to operate wagons with the antisymmetric residual deformation of the bogie frame without its non-destructive testing can lead to traffic safety violation. In order to ensure the traffic safety of wagons with bogies having rigid frames and reduce economic losses at the design stage, bogies strength depending on the action of antisymmetric forces should be estimated.