Composite Rail Wagon Chassis Beam Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current rail freight wagon structures made of metal materials are heavy, limiting payload capacity and increasing transport costs, and the use of composite materials is hindered by their anisotropic properties, specific manufacturing processes, and varying costs, making it challenging to develop lightweight composite structures for heavy-load transportation.
Innovation Solution
A composite beam structure for rail vehicles featuring a central box with reinforced ends and side boxes, covered by a composite skin, utilizing glass or carbon fibers, with a sandwich structure and flanges for assembly, designed to optimize weight reduction and manufacturing costs while maintaining robustness, incorporating lateral reinforcements and a specific assembly method.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal structures are used for wagon construction, then structural strength and robustness are ensured, but the mass of the structure increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials consisting of fiber-reinforced plastic with continuous long fibers (at least 50% by weight) to replace traditional metal structures in wagon construction. The composite beam structure maintains structural robustness while significantly reducing mass, achieving both strength and weight reduction goals simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite beam is divided into multiple structural elements including a central box, side boxes, and floor panels that can be manufactured separately and assembled. This segmentation allows optimization of each component's fiber orientation and material properties to meet specific structural requirements while reducing overall mass.
2Weight of moving object
If composite materials are used to replace metal structures, then structure mass is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases due to anisotropic properties and specific manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by varying the fiber orientation, material composition, and structural configuration in different regions of the composite beam. The central box, side boxes, and floor panels have differentiated material properties and fiber arrangements optimized for their specific structural roles, allowing mass reduction while maintaining manufacturability through region-specific optimization.
3Strength
If composite materials with high fiber content are used, then structural strength is improved, but manufacturing costs increase due to material selection and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the fiber content parameter to a minimum threshold of 50% by weight of continuous long fibers, balancing structural strength requirements with manufacturing cost considerations. This parameter change allows achieving adequate beam strength while reducing material costs compared to higher fiber content compositions, and simplifies manufacturing processes.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a structure made from composite materials for a vehicle chassis, said structure being configured to receive an undercarriage at each of its ends. This structure comprises at least one central beam (31) that comprises a median box (314) having a central part (311) and two ends (312, 313) with a reinforced structure, and the central part in turn comprises a reinforced part increasing the strength of the beam (11) with respect to the bending stresses imposed by the transported load. The median box (314) is reinforced by two lateral boxes (315, 316) extending over the entire length of the median box (314), assembled to said median box, the upper faces of which, together with the upper face of the median box, form the upper face of the beam. The structure also comprises a floor (32) that covers the upper faces of the median box (314) and the side boxes (315, 316). The elements making up the structure have shapes that are advantageously simple, easy to make from composite materials and easy to assemble.