Vehicle Control System Coupler Force Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle systems, such as trains, face challenges in managing forces on couplers during travel, leading to impaired handling and potential damage, particularly on routes with varying grades, where manual throttle adjustments by operators can be prone to error and insufficient in reducing these forces effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that determine designated speeds for a trip plan based on route geometry and prospective forces, revising the plan to reduce forces by adjusting speeds, using techniques like roughness indices and force indicator indices to quantify handling parameters and impose operational constraints, such as speed limits and throttle settings, to mitigate coupler forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If throttle notch positions are restricted or modified during vehicle system travel, then forces on couplers are reduced, but vehicle system productivity and speed capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates and determines optimal throttle notch positions and speed adjustments in advance before the vehicle system encounters problematic route sections. By pre-determining the throttle adjustment plan based on route geometry, grade changes, and environmental conditions, the system can proactively manage coupler forces while maintaining overall productivity, rather than reactively restricting throttle which causes delays.
2Strength
If throttle notch positions are restricted to prevent large forces on couplers, then coupler damage is prevented, but the vehicle system cannot respond effectively to environmental forces such as grade changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts throttle notch positions and speed limits in real-time based on actual route conditions, environmental forces, and vehicle system response. Rather than applying static restrictions, the control system continuously monitors and adapts throttle commands to balance coupler force management with the need to respond to changing environmental conditions such as grade changes, wind, and terrain.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (throttle notch position, speed limits, acceleration rates) based on calculated prospective forces and actual vehicle system response. By adjusting these parameters dynamically according to route geometry and environmental conditions, the system maintains coupler forces within safe limits while preserving the ability to adapt to varying operational requirements.
3Ease of operation
If manual determination of throttle notch position changes is used, then operational flexibility is maintained, but human error and inconsistency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback loops that monitor vehicle system response to throttle adjustments, coupler forces, and route conditions. This feedback enables the control system to learn from actual performance data and refine throttle adjustment strategies, replacing manual operator judgment with an automated system that consistently applies optimal control decisions based on real-time data and historical performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-adjustment of throttle notch positions and speed limits based on automated calculations of prospective forces and actual vehicle system performance. The control system serves itself by autonomously determining optimal operational parameters without requiring manual operator intervention, thereby eliminating human error while maintaining operational flexibility through adaptive algorithms.
4Stability of the object's composition
If speed adjustments are made to reduce prospective forces on couplers, then handling is improved, but trip time and fuel consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies speed restrictions and throttle adjustments only partially - specifically targeted at route sections where prospective forces exceed safe thresholds for coupler handling. Rather than uniformly reducing speed throughout the entire trip, the system maintains designated speeds in safe zones while applying selective speed management only where necessary to reduce excessive forces, thereby minimizing impact on overall trip time and fuel consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control system and method determine one or more designated speeds of a trip plan for a trip of a vehicle system along a route. The trip plan can designate the one or more designated speeds as a function of one or more of time or distance along the route for the trip. Geometry of the route that the vehicle system will travel along during the trip is determined, as well as one or more prospective forces that will be exerted on the vehicle system during movement of the vehicle system along the route for the trip based at least in part on the geometry of the route. The trip plan is revised to reduce at least one of the prospective forces by reducing at least one of the designated speeds of the trip plan based on the one or more prospective forces that are determined.