Title

FRATE Volume I: User's Manual

Creator

Kachadourian, G.

Sussman, N. E.

Anderes, J. R.

Date

1978

Identifier

PB291206

Abstract

FRATE (Freight Car Response Analysis and Test Evaluation) is the name of a digital computer program which numerically solves the structural dynamic equations of motion of a single railroad freight car excited by wheel/rail interface motions. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has sponsored its development for the purpose of applying it to freight car analysis and test problems. This manual has been written with the objective of providing the user with all of the detailed information needed as concisely and accessibly as possible. To this end the manual has been divided into two volume: Volume I is a User's Manual containing basic user related information, Volume II is a Technical Manual containing more detailed technical information. FRATE is written to allow the simulation of a broad range of freight cars by only simple input data changes. A Trailer-on-Flatcar (TOFC) configuration is simulated in this manual. FRATE solves the equations of motion in the time domain and includes the following features; (1) nonlinearities which presently include separations, bilinear springs and no small angle assumptions, (2) five degree-of-freedom coordinate coupling (longitudinal motions have been omitted), (3) normal mode structural flexibility and (4) frequency response from simulated sweep testing. Although it has not been included in this report coulomb damping has been included and used in a trial version of FRATE.

Date Issued

1978-09

Extent

97

Corporate Author

the MIRE Corporation

Corporate Report Number

MTR 7889, VI

Report Number

FRA/ORD-78/59

PB Number

PB291206

Contract

DOT-FR-54090

NTRL Accession Number

PB291206

Access Rights

Document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151

Photo Quality

Not Needed

Distribution Classification

1

DTIC Record Exists

No

Report Availability

Full text available by request

Provenance

S. Kumar

Type

report

Format

97 pages ; 28 cm.