Study of the efficiency of brake shoes

Abstract

Brake shoes are used as the main means for securing trains and for reducing the speed of rail cars. The design of brake shoes was invented about 100 years ago and has not changed principally until now. One of the main disadvantages of brake shoes is the formation of sliders on the wheelsets. This leads to the need to replace wheelsets, which, in turn, leads to a significant increase in the cost of cargo transportation. This paper provides a study of the efficiency of the brake shoes when they are used at hump yards to reduce the speed of movement. For the study, a simulation model of the movement of the cut on brake shoes was developed. The paper provides a mathematical apparatus for simulation modeling. It was concluded that the effectiveness of the brake shoes depends on the number of cars in the cut and the weight of the first car in the cut. With an increase in the number of cars in a cut, the effectiveness of the brake shoe decreases. In cases where the first car in the cut will have the smallest weight of all cars, the efficiency of the brake shoe will be insufficient to stop the rolling stock. The paper also compares the effectiveness of the new Retarder Stopper with brake shoes.