Finite Element Analysis of the Stress Distribution in a Novel Brake Beam of a Railcar

The brake beam is an important component of the brake beam assembly and railcar suspension system. A properly designed brake beam will enable effective transmission of the braking force via the brake shoes to the the outer tread of the rail wheels. In this study, the Finite Element (FE) method was employed for investigating the performance of a novel brake beam design. The Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the component is to ensure that the component possess satisfactory strength and rigidity vis-a-vis the functional requirements. This was done in the Solidworks 2018 environment using the von Mises stress and failure criterion for the evaluation of stress induced in the component member. The results obtained from the manual calculations and simulations of the brake torque and angular velocity of the motor agree significantly, thus, indicating that the suitability of the design data for implementation. The FEA of the brake beam indicates that the material selected for the brake beam possesses adequate satisfactory strength and rigidity to withstand the stress induced without yielding to failure or undergoing permanent deformation. This study provides some information relating to the FEA of brake beam which can assist manufcturers during the manufacturing phase of the component.