Hose strap reaction forces in railroad freight cars

This paper investigates the reaction forces on hose straps when end hoses are separated while in the charged condition, i.e., the gladhands are uncoupled. Five different end-of-car (EOC) arrangements and four most widely used hose straps are studied and tested. It is found that the load on hose straps is related to EOC arrangement types on the two connected cars. More rigid arrangements give less reaction forces on the hose straps. It is also found that the elasticity of the hose straps is another key factor contributing to the reaction force. More flexible hose straps generate less reaction forces for the same EOC arrangement setup. Simulation details are given, as well as the test results and the explanation of the results. Final discussions and conclusions are presented in the last part of this paper