Statistical Analysis of In-Service Stress–Frequency Distribution in Railway Bogie Frame

Abstract

The residual fatigue life and fatigue crack growth rate of railway bogie frames are significantly affected by in-service stresses. Several studies have attempted to generalize the stress-frequency distributions obtained from running tests and predict fatigue life based on the modified Minor rule. However, in order to design safer railway bogies or to extend their inspection intervals, it is essential to predict the fatigue life at the design stage, before in-service stress data is available. This study aims to estimate the in-service stress-frequency distributions of railway bogie frames through a statistical analysis of previously collected running test data.