• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.913-920
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• 2011

We describe the evaluation of the fatigue life and strength of a lightweight railway bogie frame made of glass fiber/epoxy 4-harness satin-woven composites. To obtain the S-N curve for the evaluation of the fatigue characteristics of the composite bogie frame, we performed a tension-compression fatigue test for composite specimens with different stacking sequences of the warp direction, fill direction, and $0^{\circ}/90^^{\circ}$ direction. We used a stress ratio (R) of -1, a frequency of 5 Hz, and an endurance limit of $10^7$. The fatigue strength of the composite bogie frame was evaluated by a Goodman diagram according to JIS E 4207. The results show that the fatigue life and strength of the lightweight composite bogie satisfy the requirements of JIS E 4207. Given its weight, its performance was better than that of a conventional metal bogie frame based on an SM490A steel material.