Vehicle Engineering

Author: Chief Editor: Yan Junmao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features:
Brief Introduction This book mainly introduces the structure, function, principles, overall design, and basic principles of strength and dynamics of common and representative main types of passenger and freight vehicles in China's railways. The book is divided into ten chapters: Characteristics of railway vehicles; Structure and principles of bogies and basic components: passenger and freight bogies; Dynamic performance; Coupler and buffer; Passenger and freight bodies; Vehicle strength calculation; Overall vehicle design, etc. This book is a teaching material for railway vehicle majors in colleges and universities, and can also be used as a reference for teachers and students of secondary vocational schools and engineering technicians engaged in railway vehicle professions.
Excerpt:
Introduction
1. Current Requirements for Vehicles in Railway Transport
Railway is the main mode of transportation in China, playing a very important role in the national economy. The passenger and freight volume of railways accounts for about 50% of the total transportation volume in China, serving as a leading role in national economic development. In recent years, under the guidance of the reform and opening-up policy, China's national economy has developed rapidly, requiring railway transportation capacity to keep pace with national economic development. Due to the neglect of early investment in railways in the previous period, the increase in railway transport capacity could not keep up with the development of the national economy, making railway transport a bottleneck restricting national economic development during this period. This issue has attracted attention from all levels of the country, recognizing the importance of early development of railways. Now, the central government has decided to strengthen infrastructure construction, and the state has made significant investments in railways to change the backward state of railways. The fundamental measure to solve the problem of railway transport capacity is to increase new lines, transform existing lines, lay double tracks, increase locomotives and rolling stock, and various advanced railway facilities, as well as to operate high-speed passenger trains and heavy-duty freight trains. Railway transport is a systematic project. To improve railway transport capacity, it is necessary to strengthen every link in railway transport. Only when every link is sound can the overall transport capacity of railways be improved. Railway vehicles are the tools directly carrying passengers and goods in railway transport, serving as a major link in railways. To complete railway transportation tasks, there is a need for a sufficient number of vehicles with a variety of types and excellent quality. The transportation tasks of railways include the transportation of passengers and goods. The requirements for vehicles for passenger and goods transportation are different. Passenger trains require smooth operation, comfortable travel, safe and convenient travel, meeting various needs of passengers during their journey. Therefore, passenger trains must be equipped with smooth-running running gear, comfortable seats and berths, bright and open windows, well-performing ventilation, lighting, heating, and cooling facilities, facilities for drinking water and meals, sanitation facilities, and luggage facilities. The compartments should also provide convenient access for passengers to get on and off the train and appropriate space for movement. Depending on different requirements, broadcasting, television, communication equipment, and safety detection devices should also be installed. Vehicles for goods transportation should have different structures depending on the type of goods transported. For example, some goods are afraid of sun and rain, requiring vehicles with rain and sun protection structures. Some goods need insulation or low temperature, some are liquids, some are gases, some are bulk or powder, and sometimes live livestock or aquatic products need to be transported. Railway vehicles should have corresponding structures to meet these transportation requirements. Railways also undertake the transportation of exceptionally large and heavy goods, and should prepare certain special vehicles to meet the transportation needs of such goods. Some vehicles require strong versatility, considering the possibility of transporting various types of goods in their structure; some vehicles consider the convenience of unloading and are equipped with automatic unloading mechanisms; some vehicles use turnover machines for unloading, and the vehicle structure must adapt to the requirements of turnover machines. Due to different transportation requirements, passenger vehicles include hard seats, soft seats, hard berths, soft berths, dining cars, luggage cars, postal cars, power generation cars, and official cars; freight vehicles include flat cars, open-top cars, covered cars, tank cars, self-unloading cars, hopper cars, insulated cars, and livestock cars, with a wide variety of types. Since railway vehicles run in trains, coupler and buffer are installed between vehicles to facilitate the formation, disassembly, and relocation of trains. In addition, each vehicle has its own braking and stopping, while the operation of braking and release is performed at the locomotive at the end of the train. Therefore, the braking on the vehicle should enable the entire train to coordinate and operate in unison. With the progress of society, the requirements for vehicles in transportation are becoming increasingly high, and the equipment on vehicles is also becoming more and more, resulting in an increase in the self-weight of vehicles. Under the same train weight, fewer passengers and goods can be transported, thereby increasing transportation costs and manufacturing costs. Therefore, new materials, new processes, and new structures should be adopted in vehicle design and manufacturing to reduce vehicle self-weight.
2. Development Overview and Prospects of Railway Vehicles in China Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, although China had railways, all vehicles running on the tracks were foreign-made, including 130 types of 3,987 passenger vehicles and 500 types of 46,487 freight vehicles. Their common characteristics were a variety of types, poor running performance, backward technical indicators, poor safety and comfort, non-interchangeable parts, and inconvenient maintenance. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Party and the government attached great importance to the development of the railway vehicle industry and the cultivation of talents. In 1949, vehicle professional talents were trained at Tangshan Railway College, and subsequently, vehicle majors were set up in other railway universities. In 1950, the Railway Science Academy was established, and in 1959, the Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Research Institute was established. After liberation, the existing vehicle repair factories were adjusted and strengthened, and while undergoing technological transformation and expansion, vehicle manufacturing began. The Vehicle Bureau was established under the Ministry of Railways, and vehicle departments (sections) were established in each railway bureau, with vehicle depots gradually forming a complete system of vehicle manufacturing, repair, and maintenance in China. The development of China's vehicles can be summarized in the following stages.
1. 1949–1957 Imitation Stage
In 1949, China began to manufacture freight vehicles, first imitating the C1 type 30-ton open-top car, using riveted steel underframes, steel-bone wooden bodies, 15-type bolted arch frame bogies, and sliding bearing wheel sets. In 1952, the 21-type all-steel passenger car began to be manufactured, with a steel body and a length of 21.97 meters. It used the 101-type balanced beam cast steel bogie. Although the structure of these vehicles was not very advanced, the People's Republic of China began its history of manufacturing its own vehicles. In 1954, engineering and technical personnel and skilled workers were systematically transferred from all over the country to form design teams and production forces for batch production of vehicles, and Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Factory and Qiqihar Rolling Stock Factory were designated as the leading factories for passenger and freight vehicle design, respectively. These two factories were the first to establish vehicle design departments. The Changchun Passenger Car Factory, Zhuzhou Rolling Stock Factory, and Meishan Rolling Stock Factory, newly built in 1954, 1955, and 1966, respectively, became specialized factories for the production of passenger and freight vehicles. Since then, the types of freight vehicles manufactured in China have gradually increased, and various types of flat cars, covered cars, tank cars, hopper cars, livestock cars, and insulated cars have been manufactured. The tonnage of freight vehicles has also gradually increased from 30 tons and 40 tons to 50 tons, and the three major cast steel freight vehicle bogies were also imitated. The 21-type passenger car manufactured by China has gradually been equipped, including nearly 3,000 hard seat cars, hard sleeper cars, soft seat cars, soft sleeper cars, dining cars, luggage cars, and postal cars. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to the economic blockade imposed by capitalist countries on China, we could only engage in various technical exchanges with the Soviet Union, and railway vehicles were also introduced from the Soviet Union. In 1955–1958, the D-axis three major cast steel bogies of the Z6 and Z8 types and various types of 60-ton freight vehicles were designed and manufactured. In 1955, the 22-type all-steel passenger car with a length of 23.6 meters was imitated according to the Soviet Union, using independent warm water heating, and part of the vehicles used atmospheric pressure steam heating, which was called the 23-type. The body structures of the two types of passenger cars were basically similar. The Soviet Union's frameless bogie was imitated to become China's 201 series D-axis bogie, and the 202-type C-axis bogie with spiral spring and hydraulic shock absorber was imitated. The 202-type passenger car bogie was gradually improved and became the main type of C-axis passenger car bogie in China.