Fiber Composite Energy Absorber for Rail Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy absorption devices for track-guided vehicles, such as rail vehicles, face challenges in reliably dissipating high impact energies while minimizing the risk of fragment dispersal and maintaining a lightweight structure, as conventional designs often rely on destructive plastic deformation which may not effectively manage high weight-specific impact energies and can lead to dangerous fragment dispersion.
Innovation Solution
The energy absorption device incorporates a counter-element designed as a piston interacting with an energy-absorbing element made of fiber composite material, where the energy-absorbing area is broken down into fragments rather than undergoing plastic deformation, utilizing a telescopic structure to ensure controlled energy dissipation and encapsulation of fragments within the device, preventing external dispersal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional plastic deformation is used for energy dissipation, then the device can absorb impact energy, but the energy absorption is insufficient for high impact energies and plastic deformation is not reversible
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material parameter from conventional metal to fiber composite material, which fundamentally alters the energy dissipation mechanism from plastic deformation to fiber breakage and delamination, enabling higher energy absorption capacity while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses fiber composite materials (such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, or aramid fiber reinforced plastics) as the energy dissipation element, which combines high strength, high stiffness, and high energy absorption capacity, resolving the contradiction between energy dissipation capacity and reliability
2Use of energy by moving object
If destructive energy dissipation elements are used, then high impact energies can be absorbed, but fragments spread dangerously during impact
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses fiber composite materials that, upon impact, undergo controlled delamination and fiber pull-out rather than catastrophic fragmentation. The layered structure of composite materials allows energy dissipation through progressive failure modes that do not produce dangerous flying fragments
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potentially harmful fragment dispersal into a beneficial controlled delamination process. The fiber composite material is designed to fail through layer separation and fiber pull-out, which dissipates energy while containing the failure within the component structure, turning what would be dangerous fragmentation into a safe, controlled energy absorption mechanism
3Use of energy by moving object
If traditional energy dissipation structures are used, then energy absorption is achieved, but the device weight is high
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs fiber composite materials (carbon fiber, glass fiber, or aramid fiber reinforced plastics) which have superior strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios compared to conventional metals. This allows the energy dissipation device to achieve high energy absorption capacity while significantly reducing the overall device weight
Solution Approach 2:
The energy dissipation element is designed with a segmented or layered structure that allows progressive failure through delamination and fiber pull-out. This segmentation enables the material to dissipate energy in a controlled manner while maintaining a lightweight construction, as the layered structure can be optimized for both weight and energy absorption performance
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively dissipates high impact energies by shredding the energy-absorbing area, reducing the overall weight of the device through the use of lightweight fiber composite materials and ensuring safety by containing fragments, thus enhancing the reliability and safety of energy absorption in high-impact scenarios.
Implementation Method 1
the impact energy introduced into the energy-absorbing device is dissipated in that the energy-absorbing area is at least partially non-ductilely defibrated
Implementation Method 2
at least part of the energy generated during the impact force transmission is reduced
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The device (100) has an energy-absorbing member (10) including an energy-absorbing region made of fibrous composite material reduced to fibers in a non-ductile manner when a mating member (20) is moved relative to the energy-absorbing member. The mating member is in a form of a hollow body that is opened at an end-face (25) of the mating member adjacent to the energy-absorbing member. A set of fragments of the energy-absorbing region formed from the material is received at an interior of the hollow body when the mating member is moved relative to the energy-absorbing member.