Title: Finite element analysis of the side bolster beam of the wagon tippler

Authors: Om Prakash; Anil C. Mahato

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, 721302, India ' Technical Research Centre, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata 700106, India

Abstract: Wagon tippler unloads the raw materials from an open type railway wagon by tilting it up to 160° from its pivot point. The main components of the tippler are side bolster beam, cradle platform, a pair of end rings with gear, hydraulic clamping assembly, two pinions and a long line shaft (LLS). The output power of the drive unit is transmitted to two different pinions which are mounted at both ends of the LLS. The failure of LLS assembly stops the tippler operation completely. To avoid the situation, an alternative approach, i.e., the output power of the drive unit is transmitted to the drive side end ring, only, and further the power is transmitted to the non-drive side end ring through side bolster beam. That approach leads to eliminate the need of LLS. A side bolster beam, which supports the loaded wagon during tippling operation, is also utilised as a power transmission unit. The side bolster beam is subjected to combined stresses, i.e. bending and torsional, due to loading and power transmission, respectively. A failure analysis is performed on the existing design of the side bolster beam using the finite element analysis (FEA) technique to examine its strength.

Keywords: wagon tippler; side bolster beam; modelling and simulation; finite element analysis; FEA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAET.2021.118472

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology, 2021 Vol.15 No.4, pp.553 - 564

Received: 28 Jan 2019
Accepted: 21 Feb 2019
Published online: 27 Oct 2021 *

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