Tweet

Jan 1, 1998 12:00 PM

Welfit Oddy has just begun a research project to measure the forces and impacts experienced by tank containers during normal operations in the various transport modes. The South African manufacturer built six specially instrumented tank containers for the project.

One of the special containers was on display at Marichem and has since gone into service in the United Transport Tankcontainers fleet. The other five containers are being operated by Stolt Tank Containers, which has four of them, and Interflow Ltd.

"We began wondering about real-world stresses after our tank containers began operating on US railroads," said Bill Oddy, president of Welfit Oddy. "We got reports that handling in the United States was much rougher than in Europe. Some of our tanks took a real beating.

"We believe this is the first concerted effort to gather real-world operating data on tank containers. What we learn over the next year or so will be used to help improve the engineering of tank containers that we believe are already very well designed."

Each of the six containers has a datalogger with 16 input channels and the capability to store up to 250 input events. Accelerometers and strain gauges are positioned around the container and measure rigid body motions, including frame twisting and longitudinal acceleration.

Data is downloaded to personal computers at designated container depots and is forwarded to the Welfit Oddy plant in South Africa. Welfit Oddy (Pty) Ltd, PO Box 677, Port Elizabeth, 6000, South Africa. Website: http://www.oddy.co.za.