Investigation of the strength of a tank container during road transport

Abstract

Background. Increasing the efficiency of the transport industry leads to the need to introduce modern means of transport with improved technical, economic and environmental characteristics. At present, transportation of liquid cargoes, including those in international traffic, is carried out mainly in tank containers. Therefore, in order to increase the efficiency of tank containers operation it is important to introduce designs with improved performance. Objective. Highlighting the results of improvements to the tank-container design and a study of its strength in road transport. Methods. In order to reduce the material intensity of the tank container, it is proposed to use pipes of circular cross section as frame elements and to create a boiler of composite material. Determination of pipe design parameters has been carried out by optimisation calculations according to material intensity minimum criterion. In order to define strength properties of improved tank-container design the calculation by finite element method has been made which has been implemented by SolidWorks Simulation software. Results. On the basis of the made calculations it is established that at lifting of the container for top corner fittings the maximum equivalent pressure arising in vertical racks of a skeleton are equal 133,6 MPa, and in a boiler – 121,5 MPa, that is below allowed. Under conditions of tank-container transportation by motor transport the maximum stresses in its structure are fixed at influence on it of acceleration 1,2g in a longitudinal direction on a course of movement. The maximum equivalent stresses in the frame were 202.4 MPa, and in the boiler – 122.2 MPa, i.e. do not exceed permissible values. Conclusions. The research carried out will contribute to the development of the design of modern tank container designs and improve the operational efficiency of the transport industry.