International Conference on Material Science and Application (ICMSA 2015)

The Design of Bullet Train Process Bogie and the Finite Element
Analysis of Frame Strength
Jun DAI
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department, Tangshan College, Tang Shan, 0630000,
He Bei, China
[email protected]

Keyword: Process bogie, Frame, Strength, Finite element.

Abstract. The process bogie is a special equipment for bullet train maintenance. Frame is the main
the main load-bearing frame in the process bogie, and its fatigue strength directly affects the safety
performance of the entire process bogie. According to the actual maintenance needs, the project
design a process bogie. Using the finite element analysis software ANSYS, the finite element model
of frame is established, and the frame strength and rigidity is analyzed. Referring to the "Bullet train
bogie frame strength test method" (TB/T2368-2005) and the Ministry of Railways standard
"Railway vehicles strength design and test standard" (TB/T1335-1996), the frame strength is
assessed. The analysis results are consistent with the practical application.

Introduction
With the rapid economic development of China, the development of high-speed railway has now
entered a new stage. The safe and stable operation of bullet Train is becoming more and more
important. Usually, the daily maintenance of the bullet train is implemented through putting the
entire column into the overhaul base for simple maintenance and repair work, but the separation of
the bullet train’s body and bogie is needed when the maintenance level reaches three and above, so
there is a need to develop a set of equipment which can carry traction body and enable the body to
move between different locations.
The bullet train’s process bogie is an special equipment which replaces the high-speed bogie of
EMU and supports the train body to move between maintenance areas in the process state when
different CRH electrical multiple units are in the process of decoding and overhaul, and different
maintenance tasks of the high-speed bogie and the train body can be achieved as a result. Truss is
one of the key components of process bogie, and it not only is the skeleton of the installation of
various parts but also bears and passes the alternating vertical force, horizontal force and
longitudinal force. The fatigue strength of truss directly affects the safety of the entire process bogie
and is of great importance to the safety, reliability and economy of the railway locomotive vehicle
maintenance. Therefore, according to the ministry of railway’s standard-Power bogie frame strength
test method TB/T2368-2005) and Railway vehicle strength design and test specification
(TB/T1335-1996), static strength and fatigue strength of the process bogie’s frame are analysed and
the results can provide insight into the performance of the process bogie frame.

The Overall Structure of Process Bogie

Figure 1 shows the structure of the process bogie which is consisted of wheel frame, movable
typeⅡsupport, drive device, driving wheel set, driven wheel set, explosion-proof battery box, and
electric control system and so on. The equipment bearing mesa is 180mm height, 28t weight. The
mesa width is adjustable, which meets the requirement of CRH1,2,3,5.
Work platform uses a fixed two vertical and one horizontal three beam structure with a support
device fixed on the upper beam. The wheel axle box is fixed on the bottom of the longitudinal beam.
Its structure is simple, bearing capacity is big, and have good matching installation with driving
power and power plant.

© 2015. The authors - Published by Atlantis Press 926

 Fig.1 The overall structure of process bogie

Framework Strength Analysis

The Construction of Finite Element Model of Framework
Based on the structure character of the framework, it can be discretized into solid elements. The
mesh of FEM is got by the ANSYS Workbench.SOLID187 element (10 nodes tetrahedral) is used.
The number of the total discretized nodes of the framework is 553064, and the number of the
elements is 275280.
Considering the character that the truss is on the axle box rubber support, we set elastic boundary
element on each of the supporting surface. The vertical, lateral and longitudinal stiffness of the
boundary element are the three directional stiffness of a series of suspension. There are 12 elastic
boundary elements[3]. Under different conditions, there is no restriction to the framework on other
positions. In the model, Z coordinate is the forward direction of the vehicle, Y coordinate is the
vertical upward direction, X coordinate is the transverse direction[2].
The solid model of the framework is shown in Figure2. The discretized FEM calculation and
loading model is shown in Figure3.

Fig. 2 The 3D model of the framework Fig. 3 The FEM model of the framework

The FEM Calculated Load of the Framework

According to the Power bogie frame’s strength test method(TB/T2368-2005). When calculating
the calculate the strength of the frame, we must calculate the vertical load, horizontal load in order

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to analyze the structure stress condition more comprehensive. The skew symmetric load is also
considered in the calculation.
According to the design requirements, the vertical load borne by each frame is

F  38.884  9.81 / 2  190.73

KN (1)

Vertical load acts, in the form of surface force, on installation surface of the frame’s center plate.
The transverse load must be considered in the calculation of frame’s strength, whose calculation
formula is:

Fy  0.5( Fz  0.5m  g )
(2)

where m+ is the weight of the frame itself which takes the value 5t. Fz is the operating vertical load
which takes F/2=95.36KN. As a result, each frame’s operating transverse load calculated is
59.94KN, and it acts on the center plate bearing surface.
Skew symmetric load is a set of counter-balanced vertical force which acts on the frame and is
antisymmetric to the two axises of the frame. It takes the value Fxie =14.72KN in this calculation.
The FEM’s Design Condition of Frame
According to the standard TB/T2368-2005, the rolling coefficient  , in the normal operating
condition, takes 0.10, and the floating coefficient  takes 0.20. We only considered the floating of
the train body, so the floating coefficient takes  =0.20. Table 1 shows six combined conditions
adopted in the calculation of the condition of the frame’s operating load.

Tab. 1 Main operating load’s working condition 载荷组合表(单位:KN)

Working
Vertical load Transverse load Skew symmetric load
condition
1 F
2 1   F
3 1   F Fy
4 1   F - Fy
5 1   F Fy Fxie
6 1   F - Fy - Fxie
The Calculation of Fram’S Allowable Stress
The allowable stress of material is the ratio of its yield limit σs to the safety coefficient S.
Ordinary carbon steel (Q235) welding structure is usually adopted in the design of the frame, and its
yield limit is 235MPa.
According to the TB/T1335-1996, when calculating the complex mechanical components, the
equivalent stress must be considered in calculation(Von Mises stress), and it must not exceed the
allowable stress. All the stress results in this calculation are expressed by equivalent stress. The
calculation formula for equivalent stress is:


 e  0.5  1   2 2   2   3 2   3   1 2  (3)

where, σe is the equivalent stress, MPa; σi is the principle stress(i=1,2,3), MPa.

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 According to TB/T1335-1996, for the no weld area, the greatest possible load or the allowable
stress under excessive load is the material’s yield limit. Under the applied load, the allowable stress
is the ratio of the material’s yield limit to the 1.5 times of the safety factor. For the weld area, the
greatest possible load or the allowable stress under excessive load is the ratio of the material’s yield
limit to the 1.1 times of the safety factor, and under the applied load, it is the ratio of the material’s
yield limit to the 1.65 times of the safety factor.
In this calculation, the working conditions are operating conditions, therefore under operating
conditions, the allowable stress of the Q235 steel plate weld structure material is 142MPa.
The calculation result of the frame’s stiffness
The structure of the frame will deform under the action of static load (operating condition 1), and
the maximum deformation appeared on the center plate bearing surface of the frame (4.247mm).
The minimum deformation appeared in the position of frame’s axle box (1.935mm) shown in
Figure3. In calculation the boundary element of the spring is set to linear stiffness, so it is very close
to the stiff spring in practice. The relative displacement of the center bearing surface of the frame to
the position of the axle box is 2.312mm. Seeing from the actual structure deformation and image of
the deformation effect, the principle deformation is the vertical one, and the 2.312mm relative
displacement is ideal, so the stiffness of the frame is enough. Figure 4 and Figure 5 show the
deformation cloud image of the frame in the first and second operating condition.

Fig. 4 Frame’s deformation in the first Fig. 5 Frame’s deformation in the second
operating condition operating condition
The Calculation Result of the Frame’S Strength
Figure 6 to Figure11 and Table2 show the calculation result of the maximum equivalent stress of
the frame’s operating load condition. From the figure, we see that the maximum equivalent stress of
the operating load condition is 116.719MPa, and it appears in the joint between the frame’s beam
and side beam.

Tab. 2 The calculation results of the frame’s maximum equivalent stress in operating load
condition(MPa)

Maximum
Calculation
equivalent The maximum equivalent stress location
conditions
stress(MPa)
Condition1 86.101 The joint between the frame’s beam and side beam
Condition2 103.321 The joint between the frame’s beam and side beam
Condition3 103.476 The joint between the frame’s beam and side beam
Condition4 136.719 The joint between the frame’s beam and side beam
Condition5 105.666 The joint between the frame’s beam and side beam
Condition6 114.356 The joint between the frame’s beam and side beam

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 Condition1: MAX=86.101MPa Condition2: MAX=103.321MPa

Fig. 6 von mises stress nephogram in Fig. 7 von mises stress nephogram in
condition1 condition2

Condition3: MAX=103.476MPa Condition4: MAX=136.719MPa

Fig. 8 von mises stress nephogram in Fig. 9 von mises stress nephogram in
condition3 condition4

Condition5: MAX=105.666MPa Condition6: MAX=114.356MP

Fig. 10 von mises stress nephogram in Fig. 11 von mises stress nephogram in
condition5 condition6

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Conclusion
Through the frame strength analysis of the bullet train’s process bogie frame, we can draw
conclusions as follows:
When the frame is under static load, the maximum relative displacement is 2.312mm. From the
stiffness calculation result of the frame’s FEM model, the stiffness of the frame is enough.
In the working condition described in TB/T2368-2005, the maximum equivalent stress of the
frame in working condition is 116.719MPa, and it is lower than 142MPa which is the alloable stress
standard of Q235 steel in working condition. The stiffness of the frame satisfied with the
requirement.

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