Improving the energy efficiency of a tram’s running gear

Abstract

This research analyses the influence of some design features of an undercarriage of a tram on the energy efficiency in terms of mechanical energy losses during its operation. The work includes the comparison of results of the research from two main points of view, namely from a running gear design and a railway wheel design. Two variants of a tram’s bogie are investigated. A standard bogie and a bogie with a system that allows a radial adjustment of the wheelsets in curves. Two designs of a railway wheel are compared, a wheel with the traditional construction scheme and a wheel with a perspective construction scheme. The values of mechanical energy losses due to slippage in the contact between the wheels and rails are analysed. These losses are obtained with reference to a specific route and the value of the average power dissipated. Moreover, an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of bogie designs has made it possible to consider the most appropriate bogie design in terms of ensuring the energy efficiency. In this case, the bogie design with the wheels with the perspective construction scheme can be considered as the optimal option.

Increasing the Traffic Safety Level of Rolling Stock by Wheel Condition Monitoring Using an Automated Measuring Complex

“…For repeated measurements of the same parameter, the accuracy is 0.1 mm. The condition of the metal adjacent to the wheel tread is examined using ultrasonic pulses of a frequency due to the loss of material from the tread surface [27][28][29][30]. The quality of a wheelset is determined by the following main parameters: height and thickness of the flange, transverse size (qr) used as the basis for calculating the amount of flange trimming, the distance between the inner edges of the wheel flanges and the equivalent conicity (Figure 3).…”