DETERMINATION OF EFFECTIVE THICKNESS FOR SPOKES IN BOXLIKE WHEEL CENTERS
During the operation of freight trains, wheel centers of electric locomotives experience various loads, resulting in cracks in them. The likelihood of cracking increases not only from the operating modes of the train, but also during the operation of the wheel center with an inappropriate thickness of spokes, that is, with a lower margin of safety. So, at the beginning of 2019, the 13th wheel pair of the 4th section of the 2 × 2ES5K electric locomotive was allowed to go on the territory of the Far Eastern Railway as a result of a rupture of the spokes of the wheel center. Based on the analysis of the wheel centers of the electric locomotive fleet of the Far East Traction Directorate, it is concluded that it is advisable to review the current tolerance field for the geometric parameters of the wheels. The CAE-model of the box center wheel center was studied using Solid Works software. The article presents the results of the strength calculation of the wheel center of Ermak electric locomotive, as well as determines the optimal parameters of the thickness of the spokes in the wheel.