Fatigue failure analysis of express freight sliding side covered wagon based on the rigid-flexibility model

Purpose The car body stiffness of express freight sliding side covered wagon decreased for the sliding and the resonance vibration based on the flexible car body has affected the dynamics performances. Dynamic loading will cause fatigue cracks and eventually lead to fatigue failure of the car body. This paper aims to investigate the influence of car body flexibility on the evaluation of the failure. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the railway vehicles random analysis procedure (RVRAP) is employed to study the fatigue failure of the rigid-flexibility model. Following the analysis process, the rigid-flexibility model is established and four contrastive schemes for simulation analysis are designed. To verify the results, an experimental test using the real car body structure on the vibration test plant is carried out; the RMS of dynamic stress is obtained and compared with the simulation results. Findings The results show that the flexibility of the car body has a crucial influence on the fatigue life. Originality/value The reliability is verified regarding the use of RVRAP at an appropriate stage on the antifatigue design of the vehicle.