PSI - Issue 81

Ján Dižo et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 81 (2026) 11 – 17

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stated by Kaledinova and Boeldak (2024) make it necessary to modernize the existing container fleet for the given nomenclature of transportation. Therefore, the issues of modernizing universal containers to enable their use for the transportation of bulk cargo, in particular grain, are relevant. Analysis of existing publications on the issues of improvements and modernizations of modular vehicles showed that there is currently a large body of work devoted to these issues. For example, Gerlici et al. (2024) developed a removable module was proposed to increase the efficiency of transportation of long-length cargo. The authors studied its loading in asymmetric schemes. The feasibility of using such a removable module was proven. It is important to say that if it is supplemented with solid walls and a roof, it can also be used for transportation of bulk cargo. However, the authors did not conduct such studies. Rahimov et al. (2016) presents an improved container design for transporting cargo requiring special climatic conditions. The authors highlight the features of the strength analysis of this container design and the prospects for its application. However, such a container is highly specialized and is intended for a limited range of cargo. This circumstance narrows the spectrum of its demand in operation. The design features of a specialized container of type C1 are given in publication written by Cheng et al. (2024). Along with a number of advantages of this container design, it should be noted that the authors did not consider the loading of its structure during rail transportation, as well as the possibility of using the container for transporting bulk cargo. As described by Lovska et al. (2024), a container for transporting a wide range of cargo is proposed, the feature of which is the presence of sandwich panels as a floor. Such implementation helps to reduce vertical loads perceived by the container design itself, as well as the cargo placed in it. The justification for using sandwich panels as components of the container design is given. It should be noted that it could also be used for grain transportation. However, the authors did not conduct such a study. A similar drawback is also found by Vatulia et al. (2023), which provides a justification for the use of sandwich panels as side walls of the container. Such a solution allows reducing the impact of dynamic loads from bulk cargo on the container walls and helps improve its durability in operation. However, the authors did not consider the possibility of transporting bulk cargo in such a container. The justification for using carbon fiber as a container construction material is investigated by Yildiz (2019). This not only contributes to improving the strength of the container, but also reduces its packaging compared to analogues. The paper presents the results of calculating the strength of a container made of this material, which confirmed the feasibility of the proposed implementation. However, the author did not consider the possibility of its involvement in the transportation of bulk cargo. The design of a container-transformer is proposed in the research performed by Poklemba et al. (2019). The container is universal and is intended for the transportation of an expanded range of cargo. The advantages of such a container design compared to existing analogues are noted. However, the authors do not provide the results of a strength analysis of the container design under operational loads, including when transporting bulk cargo. The results of the analysis of scientific publications allow us to conclude that the creation of new container designs, as well as the improvement of their designs, is a pressing task. At the same time, the issue of the introduction of containers for the transportation of bulk cargo requires further research and development. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to create a concept of a container for the transportation of bulk cargo and study the strength of its components under operational loads. The achievement of this goal was achieved by solving the following tasks: • To propose a concept of a container for the transportation of bulk cargo and to study its dynamic loading during transportation by rail; • To calculate the strength of the unloading hatch cover of the container concept. 2. Materials and methods of the research To increase the efficiency of container operation, it is proposed to introduce unloading hatch covers as its floor (Fig. 1). This will speed up the process of unloading in the conditions of sea trade ports, as well as other enterprises where they are processed. Loading of the container can occur through loading hatches, which will be placed in its roof (Fig. 2). The study was conducted on the example of a container of standard size 1 SS with a gross weight of 24 tons. It is assumed that the container floor is formed by 8 unloading hatch covers, i.e. 4 on each side of the container.

Fig. 1. Placing hatch cover in the container.

The lower part of the frame includes a series of transverse beams and a main longitudinal beam (Fig. 2b).