Rail Vehicle Compressor Cooling with Ambient Air
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rail vehicles rely on internal engine room air for cooling compressors and motors, which is less effective than using ambient air for heat dissipation and operating performance.
Innovation Solution
The rail vehicle design incorporates ambient air for cooling by directing it through engine cooling and compressor suction lines, utilizing a double-walled housing to form air lines that supply cooler, engine, and compressor intake air, enhancing heat dissipation and operating efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If internal engine room air is used for cooling compressors and motors, then the cooling system is simple and uses available internal air, but the heat dissipation effectiveness is reduced and operating performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from the internal engine room air and introduces external ambient air through dedicated cooling air lines. The housing is designed with separate cooling air lines that draw cooler ambient air from outside the rail vehicle, separating the cooling function from the internal air circulation system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the air supply system into distinct functional lines: compressor suction lines for compressed air generation and separate cooling air lines for thermal management. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each function, with cooling air lines specifically designed to deliver cooler ambient air to compressors and motors.
2Productivity
If ambient air is used for cooling compressors and motors, then heat dissipation and operating behavior improve, but the housing and air line system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, thermal insulation through double-walled construction, and houses the air line system. The cooling air lines are integrated into the housing structure, allowing the housing to serve both as enclosure and as part of the cooling system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the cooling air lines with the housing structure, where the housing walls themselves form part of the cooling air conduit system. This integration reduces the need for separate external cooling ducts and simplifies the overall system architecture.
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 approach improves heat dissipation and operating behavior by leveraging cooler ambient air, achieving better cooling performance compared to internal air cooling methods, while reducing internal temperatures and maintaining thermal insulation.
Implementation Method 1
The housing is preferably double-walled at least in sections and forms a cavity
Implementation Method 2
The air compressed by the compressor is preferably passed through the interior of a cooler for cooling, which in turn is cooled from the outside with ambient air
Implementation Method 3
A fan or support fan is preferably arranged between the supply air opening and the roof or the side wall, which sucks in ambient air and feeds it into the radiator cooling air line, the engine cooling air line and / or the first line section of the compressor intake line
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a rail vehicle (10) comprising at least one compressor (20, 20') which is suitable for generating compressed air (D) for the rail vehicle (10), wherein the compressor (20, 20') and a motor (30, 30') driving the compressor (20, 20') are situated in a housing (50) which separates, by means of a housing wall, the compressor (20, 20') and the motor (30, 30') from an interior (12) of the rail vehicle (10) located outside the housing (50). According to the invention, the motor (30, 30') is cooled by means of ambient air (U) which is conducted from outside the rail vehicle (10) by means of a motor cooling air line (L2), through a motor cooling air opening (O2, O2') and into the housing (50), and is directly conducted to the motor (30, 30'), and/or the air to be compressed by the compressor (20, 20') is ambient air (U) which is conducted from outside the rail vehicle (10) to the compressor (20, 20') by means of a compressor suction line.