Indian Railway's new revolution(PART-1)

LHB COACHES

LHB Coaches mean the coaches made of steel by RCF, Kapurthala previously built and imported from Linke-Hoffman-Busch. These coaches have large windows, are fire-proof, sound resistant and jerk free.
LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) rakes were first introduced in the Indian Railways on February 03, 2006 and the Sealdah Rajdhani got its LHB rakes on March 01, 2003. The LHB rakes are now being built at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala and are the fruits of the collaboration between Indian Railways and ALSTOM-LHB GmbH, Germany. Today, LHB rakes are being predominantly used in Rajdhani and Shatabdi

Design development of Jigs & Fixture for ECO-TRIKE

The tricycle is designed primarily for disabled people. Our design is to envision and explore the solutions to the acutest of problems. The immense possibilities in the simplest of mechanism and workability of abundant materials have bound us in this field of innovation and creativity. However the tricycle design is also meant for disabled people. The tricycle is suitable for disabled people who cannot walk but can use both arms. These users may have lost their mobility by an accident and have a leg amputation or are paralyzed. With the tricycle they have the possibility to travel independently and seek work. The measurements (seat, footrest adjustment and reciprocating mechanism). For users who do not fit into this group the measurements should be checked and, if necessary, adjusted.

“The Hand-Powered Tricycle for the Paraplegic”

The hand-powered tricycle is a vehicle that provides physical therapy and recreation for but not limited to paraplegic people. The objective is to create a vehicle that is fun to ride and gives disabled people the joy and freedom of riding a tricycle as well as providing encouragement for them to participate in physical therapy. This vehicle will require the rider to have moderated upper body strength and control.

TRICYCLE CONCEPT

The hand-powered tricycle is a fully mechanical system. The vehicle is powered when the rider perform a bench press motion that drives the chainattached at the lower section of the handlebars down tube (this section is contained within the frame). This pushing motion pulls the chain that goes around the sprocket attached to the rear wheel to create a forward motion of the vehicle. The chain will freewheel backwards due to a tension spring located at the other free end of the chain; this spring is anchored inside the frame. The design of the steering mechanism allows the rider to steer regardless of the position of the forward stroke. This is accomplished by having the cable mounting points of the steering arms concentric to the pivot location of the handlebars down tube. The steering motion is actuated by cable attached to the spindles and routed throughout the frame. If 6061 aluminum was used to fabricate the entire frame then it has high strength and light weight. Some of the tricycle’s features include Ackerman steering geometry for a better turning radius and vehicle control, disc brakes for all weather braking conditions and outstanding braking modulation, and a racing bucket seat for a secure and comfortable seating.

BASIC TRIKE FRAME DESIGN:

Weight Distribution

The weight distribution of a trike dictates how well it handles. The more weight on the forward wheels, the better the cornering and less over-steer. However, too much weight on the front wheel causes the rear wheel to be too light. This can lead to the rear wheel to wash-out during hard cornering or cause the trike to end-over during braking. Too much weight in the rear of the trike causes it to capsize even during mild handling as the single wheel has the majority of weight. A trike with 70/30-weight distribution is optimum.

Centre of Gravity

Forget what I said about weight distribution. If all the weight is placed well below the axle, the trike is going to have excellent handling regardless of weight distribution. Obviously, a low slung vehicle does have several disadvantages including visibility, safety and comfort.

Wheelbase

The effect of the wheelbase on a trike influences the steering, weight distribution and overall comfort. The wheelbase is the length between the rear wheel axle and front wheel(s) axle. A short wheelbase makes the turning radius of a trike much smaller while a long wheelbase makes the turning circle larger. Additionally, a trike with a short wheelbase exhibits faster steering than a trike with a long wheelbase. A short wheelbase trike generally places more of the payload weight on the front wheels. On the other hand, a longer wheelbase trike offers a much smoother ride, as the rider is not placed on top of the wheels. Obviously, a happy medium is needed. For the Thunderbolt and Zephyr, I used a 43-inch wheelbase. If tighter turn radius, faster steering and convenience is required, a much smaller wheelbase should be used.

A reduced wheelbase is compromised (limited) by two factors; the rear wheel size and the seat angle. Obviously a trike with a short wheelbase, steep seat angle, and large rear wheel cannot exist. This statement is repeated when I discuss wheel size and seat angle, so remember it.

Wheel Track

The wheel track is the width between the two front wheels. The wider the wheel track the less susceptible the vehicle is to capsizing during cornering. However, if too wide, the vehicle becomes impractical on most bike lanes. A 32-inch wheel track offers excellent handling and is practical for all bike roads, too. Lately, several manufacturers have released compact trikes that have reduced wheel tracks. The overall widths of these trikes allow them to pass through a standard doorway. On the Hell-Bent Spitfire RS, the wheels can have a negative camber (we'll discuss camber later) that allow a wider wheel track but the overall width compact enough to fit through a door way.

Driving Control

This design consists of Reciprocating Mechanism for controlling the vehicle. This reciprocating mechanism dictates direction to the trike.

Frame Design

The last element in basic trike technology is the frame design. There are several issues here that affect efficiency and handling. The most important issues of the frame are weight and rigidity. Along with rigidity comes stability, as any frame or wheel flex is always undesirable especially at high speed. Beyond these basic requirements are other elements that should be equally noted. Reliability, cost, ergonomic and convenience are but a few requirements that the designer must consider.

An excellent frame configuration is a 3-dimensional space frame as the design is both extremely strong and lightweight.However, the lowest weight, lowest cost, and least rigid of any vehicle would be a two-dimensional frame without seat.

Summary

The success of a recumbent tricycle design is a careful mixture of Weight Distribution, Low Centre-of-Gravity, Wheelbase, Wheel-Track, Driving control and frame configuration. In most cases the design will be a compromise of all these attributes.

Gigabox

Suspension systems for rail vehicles

Gigabox – The completely new mounting and suspension concept.

The GIGABOX is a unique system for rail freight transport consisting of a wheel set bearing and hydraulic spring. The new bearing suspension concept for rail vehicles, with integrated

rubber spring with hydraulic damping, does what conventional systems cannot do: it reduces noise and pollution while increasing safety at higher travel speeds.
It has considerably fewer components than existing suspension systems. The wearing parts have been replaced by rubber guides. Furthermore, the hydraulic damper enables amplitude-dependent damping and does not experience any operational wear. Service intervals of ten years, or 1 million kilometers, are thus possible.
The GIGABOX provides for better freight car service behavior, so there is less wear throughout the system (wheels, bogies, superstructure and roadbed – tracks, ties and track ballast), and it reduces operational vibrations considerably. The hydraulic springs isolate the vibrations generated by the contact between wheel and rail. This makes it easy for freight cars to meet future standards and limits, especially with regard to noise development and rail wear. Enhanced running smoothness is also of benefit to the cargo. Wheels screech less when negotiating curves, with the effect that residents close to train lines are exposed to less noise.
The integrated rubber spring additionally functions as a wheel control and, in this way, contributes towards safety at high travel speeds. Freight cars are currently operated at speeds of between 80 and 120 km/h, however the GIGABOX system allows even higher speeds. Furthermore, the system is fully compatible and can be simply replaced with the suspension system in the standard freight car bogies (Y25).

Railway Air-Brake system

In the air brake's simplest form, called the straight air system, compressed air pushes on a piston in a brake cylinder . The piston is connected through mechanical linkage to brake shoes that can rub on the train wheels, using the resulting friction to slow the train. The mechanical linkage can become quite elaborate, as it evenly distributes force from one pressurized air cylinder to 8 or 12 wheels.

The pressurized air comes from an air compressor in the locomotive and is sent from car to car by a train line made up of pipes beneath each car and hoses between cars. The principal problem with the straight air braking system is that any separation between hoses and pipes causes loss of air pressure and hence the loss of the force applying the brakes. This deficiency could easily cause a runaway train. Straight air brakes are still used on locomotives, although as a dual circuit system, usually with each bogie (truck) having its own circuit.