Underfloor Rail Vehicle Receptacle Space Cooling Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail vehicle designs face challenges in effectively cooling underfloor devices while preventing contamination from ambient particles and mechanical damage, and in balancing the weight distribution to maintain stable driving characteristics.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves creating a receiving space below the car body floor with filtered air inlet openings and a large main air volume for cooling, allowing air to be circulated and used efficiently for cooling multiple devices without the need for external air supply ducts, and using a substructure to support devices and distribute weight, ensuring reliable and efficient cooling and weight management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If devices are housed in individual housings with filtered air ducts for cooling, then contamination from particles is prevented, but device complexity and construction effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual device housings with separate air ducts and filters are merged into a single common receiving space. The floor pan serves as a shared protective structure for all devices, and a common air duct system with a single filter device cools multiple devices simultaneously, reducing overall construction complexity while maintaining protection against contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor pan is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as a protective housing for underfloor devices, forms the ceiling of the receiving space, provides structural support for weight distribution, and integrates air duct openings for cooling. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed.
2Volume of moving object
If heavy equipment is arranged in the front part of the trolley to optimize space, then volume utilization improves, but driving characteristics deteriorate due to unbalanced weight distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The substructure includes adjustable support elements that can be positioned at different locations along the floor pan. This adjustability allows the weight distribution to be dynamically optimized - heavy equipment can be placed in space-optimal positions while the support elements are adjusted to maintain proper balance and driving characteristics.
3Ease of manufacture
If devices are attached directly to the floor for easy assembly, then ease of manufacture improves, but mechanical impact protection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Devices are nested within the protective enclosure formed by the floor pan, which acts as an outer shell. The floor pan is attached to the vehicle structure, providing mechanical impact protection, while devices are subsequently attached to the floor pan interior surface, maintaining ease of assembly while gaining protection.
4Temperature
If multiple air ducts are used to cool each device individually, then cooling efficiency improves, but device complexity and air intake requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual air ducts leading to separate filters and cooling systems for each device are merged into a single common air duct with one filter device. This common duct distributes cooled air to multiple devices, reducing the number of components while maintaining effective cooling through the shared airflow system.
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 simplifies the construction and assembly of rail vehicles, reduces the risk of contamination, and effectively balances weight distribution, enhancing the reliability and efficiency of cooling underfloor devices while maintaining stable driving characteristics.
Implementation Method 1
at least one air inlet opening of the receiving space has a filter device for filtering out particles from the ambient air passing through the inlet opening
Implementation Method 2
at least one fan is arranged in the receiving space, which cools at least one device to be cooled by accelerating air from the main air volume
Implementation Method 3
the fan accelerates air from the main air volume so that the device to be cooled is cooled
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a rail vehicle, in particular a component of a high-speed train, wherein ° the rail vehicle has a car body with a floor which bounds in the downward direction a car body interior space for transporting passengers and/or freight ° a receptacle space (401) for holding devices (411, 412, 413, 417) of the vehicle is formed underneath the floor, wherein the receptacle space (401) has margins on all sides, has at least one air inlet opening (424, 425, 426, 427) and at least one air outlet opening (419, 420, 421) and is protected against the ingress of dirt, ° the at least one air inlet opening (424, 425, 426, 427) opens a main air volume of the receptacle space (401) to the surroundings of the rail vehicle, wherein the main air volume contains the greater part of the air in the receptacle space (401) and therefore forms a reservoir for cooling air, ° at least one device (411, 412, 413, 417) is arranged in the receptacle space (401), and at least one fan (410, 415), which, during the operation of the fan (410, 415), accelerates air from the main air volume, with the result that air flows to at least one device to be cooled.