Railcar Structural Testing

53’ Flatcar with Room to Spare

No Part Too Big…Yet
53’ flat railcar in a temperature-controlled environment…No problem. Metcut performed the structural testing on this flatcar in 2019 and it was not our first rodeo. Our high bay is equipped with at 20-ton bridge crane which is necessary for positioning full scale components for testing (left photo), not to mention loading over 70 tons of plate steel (center photo) as required dunnage to the structure. Testing on this project included camber measurements, torsion testing (right photo), compressive loads in excess of 300,000 lbs. and various other tests. While this railcar was able to be driven right into our lab, we would like to challenge any of our customers to force us to cut a hole in the building to get your part inside.

Always Room for More Data
While all of this testing was being performed, data had to be recorded. Using MTS Aeropro ® Software, ≈180 channels where monitored and recorded to compare the analysis with laboratory test data. Channels included 135 strain gages, 30 displacement gages & 15 load cells, but we have plenty of room for more. Whether you require force, strain, distance, pressure, temperature or any other type of sensor, our robust control and acquisition software is more than capable of handling large channel counts. Each project requires a custom channel map and display configuration that makes it easy to witness and process data real-time. Video can be overlaid on the data display to capture fractures, shifts & slips when they happen and correlate them directly to the test data. This gives our customers a comprehensive evaluation of their test articles while they happen or any time after the fact. Have a project coming up? Let us use our resources and experience to help you successfully capture all the data you require.

Authored By: Jeff Barnett. For more information on this subject or other testing solutions, contact me @ JBarnett@Metcut.com