Resumen
This article presents the most frequent damage in the bearing structure of a rail car during rail/sea transportation. The study includes load modes for the bearing structure of an open car such as unloading with a grab and transportation by a train ferry. It was found that the most vulnerable element of the bearing structure of an open car during unloading with a grab is the top cord. The authors suggest applying a viscous material (an elastomer) to reinforce the top cord. This solution was confirmed by means of a strength calculation, whose results showed the efficiency of the solution. The bearing structure of an open car during the train ferry transportation can be protected by mounting special fixation units on the bolster beams. The geometry of such units was chosen according to that of a chain binder. The results of the strength calculation demonstrated that the strength of the bearing structure of an open car was provided with the application of the fixation units suggested. The article also presents the results of the experimental determination of the strength of the improved bearing structure of an open car based on the finite element method and full-scale bench testing. The research conducted might be used by those who are interested in higher operational efficiency of rail cars during rail/sea transportation.