Experimental research into the strength of a flat car with elastic interaction between fixed fittings of a flat car and container fittings

This research uses the finite element method to determine the strength of the bearing structure of a flat car during shunting impacts with. The authors determined the fields of the maximum equivalent stresses in the bearing structure of a flat car. The strength was also researched with the strain-gage method. The test results showed that the maximum difference between the stresses obtained theoretically and experimentally was 17.0%. The strength model of a flat car was verified with an F-test. The calculation demonstrated that the hypothesis of adequacy was not rejected. The research demonstrated that damage to the bearing structure of a flat car and the containers can be decreased by applying an improved interaction scheme. This will reduce the maintenance costs of flat cars and containers, and enhance the efficiency of railway transport.