Rail Vehicle Wind Deflector Stabilizing Body
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind deflectors for rail vehicles face issues with lateral movement, offset movements, and increased friction between adjacent wind deflectors, leading to gap formation and reduced service life due to lack of effective stabilization and rigidity.
Innovation Solution
A stabilization body is introduced that extends into multiple wind deflectors, providing a supporting force to reduce elastic lateral movement and enhance transverse rigidity, with receiving channels designed to accommodate this body, allowing for better alignment and reduced deformation during vehicle operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If wind deflector elements are arranged circumferentially and abut each other at their end faces, then the wind deflector can be manufactured and assembled more easily, but lateral movement and offset movements occur between adjacent wind deflectors during operation
Solution Approach 1:
A stabilizing body is introduced as an intermediary element between adjacent wind deflector elements. This stabilizing body extends into the hollow chambers of multiple wind deflector elements and provides lateral support, preventing offset movements while maintaining the modular circumferential arrangement. The stabilizing body acts as a mediator that connects adjacent elements and restrains their lateral displacement during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizing body is nested within the hollow chambers of the wind deflector elements. By placing the stabilizing structure inside the existing hollow space of the modular elements, lateral support is provided without adding external complexity to the overall assembly. This nested arrangement maintains the ease of manufacture while improving lateral stability.
2Reliability
If wind deflector elements press against each other under force to avoid gaps, then gap formation is prevented, but friction and wear increase between end faces
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing body serves as a mediator that provides lateral support to wind deflector elements, reducing the lateral component of contact forces between adjacent elements. By restraining lateral movement through internal support rather than external pressing, the stabilizing body minimizes friction and wear at the end face contact surfaces while maintaining gap prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of preventing gaps through increased radial pressing force between end faces, the stabilizing body provides support in the lateral dimension by extending into the hollow chambers. This dimensional shift allows gap prevention through lateral restraint rather than radial compression, reducing friction and wear at the contact surfaces.
3Device complexity
If a single circumferential wind deflector element is used, then the structure is simpler, but it has high mass and is difficult to manufacture and assemble
Solution Approach 1:
The wind deflector is segmented into multiple modular elements arranged circumferentially, each with its own hollow chamber. This segmentation reduces the mass of individual components, simplifies manufacturing processes, and facilitates assembly. The modular elements can be produced separately and then assembled together to form the complete circumferential structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizing body is nested within the hollow chambers of the segmented wind deflector elements, providing structural support without adding external complexity. This nested arrangement allows the segmented structure to maintain simplicity while improving lateral stability during operation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If wind deflector elements are made elastically deformable, then they can accommodate vehicle component movements, but lateral deformation occurs during offset movements
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing body acts as an intermediary that restrains lateral deformation of the elastically deformable wind deflector elements. By extending into the hollow chambers and providing internal support, the stabilizing body allows the elements to accommodate vertical and longitudinal movements while preventing detrimental lateral deformation during offset movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizing body provides localized lateral support at specific positions within the hollow chambers of the wind deflector elements. This local reinforcement allows the overall structure to remain elastically deformable for accommodating vehicle movements while preventing lateral deformation at critical locations where the stabilizing body is positioned.
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
The solution effectively minimizes offset movements, reduces friction, and extends the service life of wind deflectors by stabilizing them against lateral and transverse forces, ensuring smoother operation and reduced wear.
Implementation Method 1
Even a single wind deflector causes elastic deformation. Especially during lateral displacement movements between the vehicle components, in addition to the sliding motion across the contact surfaces of the opposing wind deflectors, a lateral deformation also occurs.
Implementation Method 2
A stabilization body is introduced that extends into multiple wind deflectors, providing a supporting force to reduce elastic lateral movement and enhance transverse rigidity
Implementation Method 3
the sliding motion across the contact surfaces of the opposing wind deflectors, a lateral deformation also occurs. This can result in detrimental step formations at the transition between two wind deflectors on a shared vehicle component due to these displacement movements.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a wind deflector (1) for arrangement between two movably connected vehicle parts (10, 11), in particular of a rail vehicle, comprising at least one wind deflector element (12, 13, 14) arranged on each vehicle part (10, 11), which is elastically deformable and has a U-shaped or arcuate cross-section. According to the invention, at least one stabilizing body (15) is provided, which extends at least partially into the wind deflector element (12, 13, 14) and is led out of it at at least one end face of the wind deflector element (12, 13, 14).