Improvement of suspension system of Fbd wagons for coal transportation

This paper presents the failure analysis and improvement of suspension system of Fbd wagons for coal transportation. Respecting the existing design of the wagon, the special solution of the rubber elastic element which was subsequently installed in suspension system is designed. The element is very easy to install in existing wagons, between the laminated spring buckle and underframe. The methodology of identifying the causes of unwanted fractures is focused on theoretical and experimental analysis of behavior of suspension system with and without rubber elastic elements. Subsequent installation of rubber elastic elements at about 400 wagons in thermal power plant “Nikola Tesla”, Obrenovac, Serbia, has prevented the very frequent fractures of laminated springs and cracks on the underframes. This has enormously reduced costs of maintenance of wagons and increased the efficiency of railway transportation of coal from mining basin to the thermal power plant.