Vacuum Train Door Sealing for Faster Station Boarding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum train systems face challenges in minimizing standstill times at stations due to the need to maintain a vacuum environment, which hinders quick and safe access for passengers and goods, as existing solutions like inflatable toroid seals and extendable doors are inefficient in sealing and air management.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of ring-shaped inflatable and deflatable seals around both vehicle and station doors, with different diameters, allows for rapid sealing and minimal air exchange, enabling quick door opening and closure while maintaining vacuum integrity, using pneumatically controlled seals made from reinforced rubber with optional additional materials for enhanced sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional inflatable toroid seals or extendable seals are used around station doors, then sealing is achieved, but the standstill time at stations increases due to slow sealing action and large air volume to be evacuated
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is divided into two separate ring-shaped seals: one around the station door and one around the vehicle door, with different diameters forming consecutive sealing areas. This segmentation allows independent operation of each seal, enabling rapid sealing action without the complexity of extendable mechanisms, thereby reducing standstill time while maintaining effective sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
Both ring-shaped seals are inflated pneumatically to create the sealing effect. This pneumatic mechanism provides rapid inflation and deflation capabilities, enabling quick sealing and unsealing actions that minimize standstill time at stations while maintaining reliable vacuum isolation.
2Reliability
If seals are positioned far from doors to ensure sealing, then sealing reliability improves, but the air volume to be introduced and evacuated increases, slowing down door operations
Solution Approach 1:
The ring-shaped seals are positioned adjacent to the doors and are inflated in advance before door opening or closing operations. This preliminary sealing action isolates the door areas from the vacuum environment beforehand, allowing doors to open or close quickly without dealing with large air volumes, thereby reducing operation time while maintaining sealing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system uses locally positioned ring-shaped seals with different diameters that create consecutive sealing areas precisely where needed around each door. This localized sealing approach minimizes the air volume involved in door operations while ensuring reliable sealing at each door location independently.
3Area of stationary object
If single large seal is used around station door, then sealing coverage is achieved, but the complexity of seal positioning and air management increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large seal, the system employs two ring-shaped seals with different diameters positioned at different locations - one around the station door and one around the vehicle door. This segmentation simplifies the positioning requirements for each seal while collectively achieving comprehensive sealing coverage of the entire door interface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing approach transitions from a single-plane seal to a two-dimensional arrangement of consecutive sealing areas in radial direction. The two ring-shaped seals create sequential sealing zones that together cover the entire interface between station and vehicle, achieving comprehensive coverage through spatial distribution rather than a single large seal.
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 significantly reduces standstill times by minimizing air exchange and pump-down time, achieving faster boarding and departure processes, outperforming traditional airlock systems in speed and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
The ring-shaped seals are preferably inflated pneumatically by a gas and deflated by removing the gas from the seal
Implementation Method 2
the two ring-shaped seals in their inflated state seal both doors and the space between the doors against the vacuum within the pipe
Data Source
AI summary
A door system for a vacuum train is shown which comprises at least one vehicle (3) with at least one vehicle door (2) and a track for the vehicle comprising at least one evacuated pipe (10) and/or tunnel for the vehicle and guiding and propelling elements for the vehicle within the pipe and/or tunnel. The track comprises at least one station (20) outside of said pipe and/or tunnel with at least one station door (4) being arranged within the wall of the pipe and/or tunnel to selectively close and open the station towards the pipe and/or tunnel, the vehicle door and the station door being arranged to be in a corresponding position when the vehicle is at rest at the station, so that persons can leave or enter the vehicle when the vehicle door and the station door are open at the rest position of the vehicle. And the door system comprises at least one inflatable and deflatable ring shaped seal (22) which surrounds both doors when the doors are in their corresponding position and which seals in its inflated position both doors against the vacuum within the pipes and/or tunnels by filling the gap between the vehicle outer surface and the pipe and/or tunnel wall at the station and which does not fill the gap when being in its deflated state. Thereby the amount of air to be removed between vehicle and station before the corresponding doors can be opened will be minimized, allowing to minimize the time until the doors can be opened.