2 Objectives To assess the state of quality of the truck casting material, TTCI had the following objectives: • Evaluate mechanical properties of truck castings from multiple manufacturers. • Investigate alternate casting methods. • Create new or propose changes to truck casting quality standards. • Review current foundry NDT methods. • Propose design changes in truck castings to reduce maximum stresses. • Conduct an industry survey to determine why side frames and bolsters are removed from service.
1.3 Overall Approach
• Obtain bolsters from multiple foundries; perform chemical and mechanical testing on these bolsters and analyze data. • Investigate alternate casting methods by working with suppliers and by using computer simulations. • Propose changes to the AAR M-201 standard to improve casting quality. • Evaluate the effectiveness of various NDT techniques for truck castings in production and in repair facilities. Evaluate feasibility of radiography as the sole NDT method for truck castings. • Employ finite element analysis (FEA) to determine location and magnitude of maximum stress in a side frame or bolster, then attempt to reduce maximum stress by 20 percent by analyzing design changes. • Take proposed AAR M-201 standard changes and other alternate parameters and apply them to bolsters obtained from a smaller set of foundries. Perform chemical and mechanical testing on these bolsters and compare to the results from the earlier testing. • Conduct surveys of multiple railcar manufacturers and repair shops to determine why truck castings are removed from service.
1.4 Scope TTCI conducted a comprehensive review of the quality of materials commonly used for bolster and side frame castings. The results from the material property analysis, NDT effectiveness evaluations, foundry process simulations, and suggested design changes will be used to improve the existing practices and standards for AAR M-201 Grade B+ bolsters and side frames.
1.5 Organization of the Report
The report is organized by the following sections: • Section 2: Initial chemical and mechanical testing • Section 3: Alternative casting methods
