US 4,286,524 AGranted

Pressurized hopper car interior side and roof bracing support structure

AssigneeACF Industries, Incorporated

InventorSteve L. Jantzen

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Abstract

In a pressurized railway hopper car vertical and horizontal reinforcement members are strategically located relative to the car side plate to counteract the moment M caused by the internal pressure applied to the side sheets and to the roof. The vertical reinforcement member is spaced inwardly from the shear center of the side plate a distance determined by dividing the value of the moment M by the vertical component of the membrane pressure loads applied to the roof and to the side sheet. Horizontally extending reinforcements are provided extending between the laterally spaced side plates which are attached to the side plates at approximately the shear center of the side plate. With the horizontal and vertical members thus located, the vertical and horizontal reinforcing members will carry substantially axial loads only, essentially eliminating bending, and thus may be of reduced size as compared to the size which would be required if these members also carried bending loads.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A pressurized railway hopper car comprising:

trucks supporting the car at opposite ends thereof;
side sheets located on opposite sides of the car and extending vertically between transversely spaced side sills located at the lower portion of the side sheets and transversely spaced side plates located at the upper portion of the side sheets;
a roof extending between said side plates;
included sheets attached to the lower portion of the side sheets defining at least one hopper in the car;
at least one vertical reinforcement located on each side of said hopper;
upper connecting means extending between each of said vertical reinforcements and its respective sie plate to anchor said reinforcement at its upper portion;
lower connecting means attaching said vertical reinforcement at its lower portion to its respective side sill;
horizontally extending reinforcements extending between said upper connecting means at approximately the shear center of each side plate;
said vertical reinforcements spaced inwardly from the shear center of its respective side plate a distance such that said vertical and said horizontal reinforcements carry substantially axial loads resulting from membrane pressure loads applied substantially uniformly upon said side sheets and upon said roof.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.