Influence of construction schemes and parameters of three-piece freight bogies on wagon stability, ride and curving qualities

Abstract

In many countries, including Russia, the three-piece bogies are essential for freight transportation. Their dynamic behavior includes many nonlinear effects and is strongly dependent on the realized parameters that are subject to change due to wear. Since the beginning of the 20th century, when the three-piece bogie was invented, there has been significant progress in its design. Actually, now the term three-piece bogie is applied to a variety of construction schemes that look similar, but have principal differences. This article investigates various construction schemes of the three-piece bogies from the point of view of stability, ride, and curving quality, using numerical simulation results as well as the results of natural experiments for the available bogies. Analysis of the dynamic behavior of traditional three-piece bogieThe traditional three-piece bogie (for example, model 18-100 in Russia, figure 1) is equipped with central suspension that consists of a set of springs and wedge friction dampers working in vertical and lateral directions and keeping the frame square. The side frames with their flat surfaces rest on the axle boxes (or bearing adapters). The size of the opening in the side frame provides clearances in longitudinal and lateral direction within which the axle box moves resisted by dry friction forces.In traditional three-piece bogies, the flanges of wheels are worn much faster than the tread. For instance, for gondola cars that are always operated in laden condition, the tread wear rate reaches 3.6 mm per 100 km, but the corresponding flange wear rate is up to 11.1 mm per 100 km, which actually means that the wheel has to be reprofiled (after 9 mm flange wear). This problem is especially sharp for wagons operated in Siberian regions, where 80% of track are curves less than 600 m radius.The main reason for flange wear is the unstable behavior of bogies in curves (rutting mode), reference [1], when the bogie is flanging with a two-point contact situation (figure 2) instead of passing the curves using the wheel conicity. Flanging is the result of bogie 'warping', which makes the angle of attack increase when compared to radial position.

Prospects for the Use of Gondola Cars on Bogies of Model ZK1 in the Organization of Heavy Freight Traffic in the Republic of Kazakhstan

“…The center of rigidity shear is achieved the diagonals of the axlebox housing with the help of anchor links. In addition, the bogie of model ZK1 is equipped with wear-resistant liner between the center plate and thrust bearing, elastic-roller bearers of constant contact, a wedge in the central absorber suspension [8,14,15 Analysis and design of the truck revealed that the design of the cargo trucks of model ZK1 excludes:…”

“…Increase the weight standards of freight trains without reconstruction of infrastructure possible in the operation of freight cars with axle load of 245 kN, which will increase the weight of freight trains up to 7100 tons [8][9][10].…”

Influence of the Dry Friction Suspension System Characteristics on the Stick‐Slip of Vertical Vibration of a Three‐Piece Bogie

“…Now the threepiece bogies are the most common suspension for freight wagons across the world for its low manufacturing cost and low maintenance cost. e design of robust limits the critical speed of the empty wagon for low cost in production [2]. e bogies play key roles in promoting the running behavior of rail vehicles.…”

Dynamics of railway freight vehicles

“…In one of their numerous studies on three-piece bogies Boronenko et al [15] investigate the reason for excessive flange wear in some of the Russian wagons. One conclusion is that the main reason for flange wear is the unstable behaviour of the bogies in curves (rutting mode) [16], when the bogie is flanging with a two-point contact situation instead of negotiating the curve using the wheel conicity. The flanging is the result of bogie warping, which increases the angle of attack compared to a radial position.…”

“…The three-piece bogie is a very robust design with the advantage of being low cost in production, operation and repair. The following items are considered as disadvantages of traditional three-piece bogie and attempts have been made to address these in its further developments [15], [16], [17]:…”