Finite Element Analysis of 20×20 ft Container Flat Wagon Underframe Structure Using S355J2 Steel

Abstract

The underframe is the key structure support to the floor of the railway cargo carriage and adherence to its stability is also crucial for operational safety in railroads. The paper is aimed at substantiating the strength of the underframe of a 2×20 ft container flat wagon fabricated from S355J2 structural steel via finite element methods. A convergence test for mesh discretization showed that 21 mm with a skewness value of 0.87 will be sufficient for numerical simulation. Various loadings were used according to the standard EN 12663-2, i.e., normal, lateral, axial compressive, axial tensile, and their combination. The maximum von Mises stress under combined loads was 217.79 MPa, which is smaller than the 355 MPa material yield stress. The EN 12663-2 maximum overall deformation of 7.5 mm was within the limit of 61.38 mm. The safety margin of 1.63 % has been computed, which falls within the accepted values of 1.5–2.0 and this means that the design of the underframe is sound for use in service conditions.