INVESTIGATION OF YARD IMPACT FORCES ON 286,000 LB TANK CARS

The study examines the effect of 286,000 lb tank car gross weight on peak coupler impact force during coupling of strings of tank cars in a hump yard. The project was carried out using a proven Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems (ADAMS) computer simulation model. The study considers various combinations of impacting and impacted cars, for four different draft gear types. Simulation runs for each case were made at seven impact speeds, from 3.5 to 9.5 miles/hour. It also compares the peak coupler impact forces to those for tank cars loaded to 263,000 pounds.