Rail Vehicle Chassis Frame Open Profiles Torsional Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail vehicle chassis designs struggle to balance torsional flexibility and low mass, which is crucial for maintaining high derailing security and energy-efficient operation, especially on tracks with strong torsions and large tracking errors.
Innovation Solution
A chassis frame formed from open profiles, connected to a drive engine via a two-point storage system with a first and second warehouse, and featuring a motor torque support connected to at least a drive engine and a head carrier, which enhances torsional flexibility and reduces mass.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the chassis frame is designed to be flexible and heavily sprung to ensure high derailment safety, then the torsional flexibility improves, but the mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The chassis frame utilizes open profiles that provide flexible structural elements. The open profile design allows the frame to achieve the necessary torsional flexibility without requiring heavy reinforcement, thus maintaining derailment safety while controlling mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the structural parameters by using open profiles instead of closed sections, and by strategically positioning bearings and torque supports. This allows optimization of the flexibility-to-mass ratio, achieving adequate torsional flexibility with reduced mass compared to traditional heavily sprung designs.
2Reliability
If the chassis frame is designed to be torsionally flexible to reduce wheel loads, then the derailment safety improves, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The chassis frame is segmented into modular components including open profiles, bearings, and torque supports. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for torsional flexibility while maintaining overall structural simplicity and ease of assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The open profiles serve as flexible structural elements that inherently provide torsional flexibility without requiring complex additional mechanisms. The flexible nature of the open profiles simplifies the overall structure compared to rigid designs with multiple active compliance elements.
3Strength
If closed profiles are used for the longitudinal members, then the structural strength improves, but the mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs open profiles instead of closed sections for the chassis frame members. These open profiles provide adequate structural strength for the application while being lighter than closed profile equivalents, thus reducing overall chassis mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes the geometric parameters of the open profiles to achieve the required strength-to-mass ratio. By carefully selecting profile dimensions and configurations, the chassis achieves necessary structural strength with reduced mass compared to closed profile designs.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a fully suspended hollow shaft drive is used, then the drive integration improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive system is segmented into separate components: the drive motor is fully suspended, the transmission is mounted on the axle, and they are connected through a cardan shaft. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing and assembly compared to a fully integrated hollow shaft drive, while still achieving good drive integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The cardan shaft serves as an intermediary element connecting the fully suspended drive motor to the axle-mounted transmission. This intermediary allows independent optimization of each component for ease of manufacture while maintaining effective power transmission and integration.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a chassis, comprising a chassis frame (1), at least one wheelset (2), at least one fully sprung drive motor (3), and at least one axle-mounted transmission (4), wherein the chassis frame (1) has a first longitudinal member (5), a second longitudinal member (6), a cross member (7), and at least one head member (8) pivotally connected to the first longitudinal member (5) and pivotally connected to the second longitudinal member (6), and wherein the at least one drive motor (3) is coupled to the at least one wheelset (2) via the at least one transmission (4).To achieve a torsionally flexible chassis, it is proposed that the chassis frame (1) is formed from open profiles, which connects at least one drive motor (3) to a first profile web of the cross member (7) via a first bearing (12) and a second bearing (13), and that a motor torque support (14) is connected to the at least one drive motor (3) and to the at least one head support (8).