Simulation of loads for a tank container included in combined trains transported by train ferry

Abstract

The article deals with the research into dynamic loading of a tank container of improved structure included in a combined train transported by train ferry. In order to define accelerations as a dynamic loading component on the tank container under train ferry vibrations, a mathematical model was built with the method of Lagrange multipliers of the second kind. The research considered angular displacements of the train ferry relative to the longitudinal axle (careen), as the maximum loading of the carrying structure of a flat wagon with tank containers, and also their stability relative to the deck. It was considered that the flat wagon was rigidly fixed relative to the deck, and the tank wagons – relative to the fitting stops and did not have their own degree of freedom under train ferry vibrations, i.e. the only fluid cargo, limited by the tank walls, could vibrate. The mathematical model was solved by the Runge–Kutta method in the MathCad environment. The maximum acceleration on the normal position of the tank container under train ferry vibrations was defined. The general acceleration value also considered the horizontal component of the free fall acceleration conditioned by the train ferry’s angle of heel. The results obtained were considered in the capacity calculation of a tank wagon with the Finite Element Method in the CosmosWorks environment. The calculation showed that the maximum equivalent loads for the improved carrying structure of a tank wagon did not exceed the admissible ones. The results of the research conducted can be applied in designing new generation tank containers; they may also promote higher efficiency of the international combined transportation.