EP3181424A1

EP3181424A1 - Railway vehicle provided with collision energy absorption structure

Info

Publication number: EP3181424A1
Application number: EP16202156.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sota KIMURA; Shota KURIKI; Tadamasa KANEYASU
Original assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Priority date: 2015-12-18
Filing date: 2016-12-05
Publication date: 2017-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-05
Also published as: JP2017109731A; EP3181424B1; GB201522424D0; JP6251365B2

Abstract

The present invention aims at providing a railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure capable of relieving impact during collision without deteriorating safety of crew and the like.

The invention provides a railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure configured to absorb collision energy, a body of the railway vehicle including an underframe constituting a floor surface, a lower beam fixed to an end beam disposed at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of the underframe, a first end floor placed on an upper portion of the end beam and the lower beam, a pair of gangway frame columns disposed on an upper surface of a front end portion at a center portion in a width direction of the first end floor and constituting a gangway frame, a corner post disposed on an upper surface of the front end portion at an end portion in the width direction of the first end floor, and a crew's room disposed rearward of the corner post, wherein the gangway frame columns have a rectangular cross-section with a longitudinal dimension greater than a width dimension, and the lower beam has a center portion in a longitudinal direction positioned below a rear end portion of the gangway frame columns fixed to the first end floor.

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure that absorbs collision energy by plastic deformation of a part of the railway vehicle when the railway vehicle collides against an obstacle.

Background Art

A body of a railway vehicle includes an underframe constituting a floor surface, side structure bodies standing on both end portions in a width direction of the underframe and forming side walls of the body, an end structure body standing on both end portions in a longitudinal direction of the underframe, and a roof structure body arranged on an upper end portion of the side structure bodies and the end structure body and constituting a roof of the body.
The underframe includes a pair of side beams disposed along a longitudinal direction on both end portions in the width direction of the underframe, and side beams disposed along a width direction on both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the underframe. A body bolster is provided at a position separated by a predetermined distance from the side beam toward the center portion in the longitudinal direction of the underframe in a manner bridged between the pair of side beams and along the end beam. A pair of center beams having a coupler is disposed between the side beams and the center portion of the body bolster.
A bogie that moves along a track is disposed on a lower surface on both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the body, and a center pin being the center of revolution of the bogie is disposed in a manner suspended downward from the center portion in the width direction of the body bolster. The bogie and the center pin are connected via a traction device, and traction force during acceleration or brake force during deceleration are transmitted via the center pin to the body bolster. Further, when multiple railway vehicles are connected to form a train formation, tensile load and compressive load from adjacent railway vehicles are transmitted via the coupler to the center beams constituting the underframe, so that the underframe including the body bolster and the center beams has a strong rigidity.
When the railway vehicle collides against an obstacle, since the underframe constituting the floor surface of the body has a high rigidity, it is not possible to expect the underframe to plastically deform and absorb the collision energy, relieving the impact to the passengers and crew (hereinafter referred to as passengers and the like), so that impact may be applied on the passengers and the like.
Therefore, patent literature 1 ( Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-326550 ) teaches a technique for reliving the impact applied on the passengers and the like caused by collision, by providing a collision energy absorption device on the end beam of the underframe for absorbing collision energy through plastic deformation when the railway collides against an obstacle.

Summary of Invention

Technical Problem

An amount of absorption of collision energy of a collision energy absorption device (Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-326550 ) is given by the product of collapse load and collapse quantity (collapse dimension in the longitudinal direction). Therefore, in a collision energy absorption device absorbing a large amount of collision energy, the collapse load becomes large, and the passengers and the like may receive impact.
An arrangement has been devised where a collision energy absorption structure for absorbing collision energy is assembled to a part of the vehicle body in addition to the collision energy absorption device, so as to reduce collapse (peak) load during collision and relieve the impact applied to the passengers and the like. However, when an area that plastically deforms during collision is disposed to a part of the vehicle body, if a crew's room or an entrance constituting an evacuation path is included in that area, there is a drawback that the safety of the crew is deteriorated, or evacuation guidance after the collision becomes difficult.
The object of the present invention is to provide a railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure capable of relieving impact during collision without deteriorating the safety of the crew and the like.

Solution to Problem

The above-described object can be realized by a railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure configured to absorb collision energy, a body of the railway vehicle including an underframe constituting a floor surface, a lower beam fixed to an end beam disposed at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of the underframe, a first end floor placed on an upper portion of the end beam and the lower beam, a pair of gangway frame columns disposed on an upper surface of a front end portion at a center portion in a width direction of the first end floor and constituting a gangway frame, a corner post disposed on an upper surface of the front end portion at an end portion in the width direction of the first end floor, and a crew's room disposed rearward of the corner post, wherein the gangway frame columns have a rectangular cross-section with a longitudinal dimension greater than a width dimension, and the lower beam has a center portion in a longitudinal direction positioned below a rear end portion of the gangway frame columns fixed to the first end floor.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The present invention enables to provide a railway vehicle having a collision energy absorption structure capable of relieving impact during collision, without deteriorating the safety of the crew and the like.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a side view of one example of a railway vehicle having a gangway disposed at a head portion.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a framework of a railway vehicle (refer to FIG. 1) having a collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion.
FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view (A-A cross-section of FIG. 2) of a direction along a longitudinal direction of the railway vehicle having the collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion.
FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view (B-B cross-section of FIG. 1) at a floor surface height of the railway vehicle having the collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a lower beam arranged at the head portion of the railway vehicle.
FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view (corresponding to B-B cross-section of FIG. 1) of a floor surface height of the railway vehicle having the collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion, illustrating an example of a first end floor with slits.
FIG. 7 is an example of slit shapes disposed on the first end floor and the lower beam.

Description of Embodiments

Now, an embodiment of a railway vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. At first, directions related to the railway vehicle referred to in the present description are defined as a longitudinal direction (rail direction) 100 of a railway vehicle 1, a width direction (sleeper direction) 110 of the railway vehicle 1, and a height direction 120 of the railway vehicle 1 intersecting with the longitudinal direction 100 and the width direction 110. The above-defined directions are simply referred to as the longitudinal direction 100, the width direction 110 and the height direction 120 in the following description.
Further, a direction toward a center portion in the longitudinal direction 100 from an end portion (side having a coupler 4) in the longitudinal direction 100 of the railway vehicle 1 is referred to as rearward, and similarly, a displacement (movement) toward the center portion in the longitudinal direction 100 of the railway vehicle 1 is referred to as retreat.
FIG. 1 is a side view of one example of a railway vehicle having a gangway provided at a head portion. A body 3 of the railway vehicle 1 includes an underframe 20 constituting a floor surface, a side structure body 7 standing on both end portions in the width direction 110 of the underframe 20, a rounded end structure body 18 standing on one end portion in the longitudinal direction 100 of the underframe 20 and including a driver's cab, a (flat) end structure body (not shown) standing on the other end portion, and a roof structure body 9 mounted to an upper end portion of the end structure bodies (18) and the side structure body 7.
The rounded end structure body 18 includes a collapse area (crushable zone) E as a range collapsed during collision, and a non-collapse area (survival zone) F that is not collapsed during collision and tries to retain the form prior to collision (refer to FIGs. 2 and 3).
The rounded end structure body 18 including a driver's seat (crew's room) has a gangway 16a (refer to FIG. 2) through which passengers and the like move to adjacent cars, and the gangway 16a is composed of a gangway frame 40, a bellows-shaped gangway hood 16b, and so on. A crew's room 300 included in the rounded end structure body 18 is disposed at both end portions in the width direction 110 of a connection portion between the rounded end structure body 18 and the underframe 20 (refer to FIG. 4).
Side structure bodies 7 include windows for lighting and natural ventilation, crew entrances 14a through which the crew board and alight the vehicle, and passenger entrances 14b through which the passengers board and alight the vehicle. Further, the railroad vehicle 1 has its lower area at both end portions in the length direction 100 of a vehicle body 3 supported by bogies that move along the track.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a framework of the railway vehicle (refer to FIG. 1) having a collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion, and FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view (A-A cross-section of FIG. 2) taken in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the railway vehicle having the collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion. FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view (B-B cross-section of FIG. 1) taken at a floor surface height of the railway vehicle having the collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a lower beam disposed at the head portion of the railway vehicle. Further, FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view (corresponding to B-B cross-section of FIG. 1) taken at a floor surface height of the railway vehicle having the collision energy absorption structure disposed at the head portion, illustrating an example of a first end floor panel having slits, and FIG. 7 shows one example of a shape of a slit formed on the first end floor and lower beams.
The underframe 20 (refer to FIG. 4) is mainly composed of of side beams 22 arranged along the longitudinal direction 100 at both end portions in the width direction 110, an end beam 25 arranged along the width direction 110 at one end portion in the longitudinal direction 100, a body bolster 21 having the bogie 5 (refer to FIG. 1) arranged therebelow, a pair of center-portion center beams 23 connecting the center portion in the width direction 110 of the end beam 25 and the center portion in the width direction 110 of the body bolster 21, a pair of end-portion center beams 24 connecting both end portions in the width direction 110 of the end beam 25 and both end portions in the width direction 110 of the body bolster 21, and a second end floor 26b laid between the side beams 22.
The coupler 4 (refer to FIG. 1) disposed below the gangway 16a and an impact absorber (not shown) connected to the coupler 4 are provided on the center-portion center beam 23, relieving the impact caused when the railway vehicle 1 connects to other vehicles or the vibration in the longitudinal direction 100 when the railway vehicle 1 accelerates or decelerates.
A pair of lower beams 30 is provided along the longitudinal direction 100 in a cantilever state at a center portion in a width direction 110 of the end beam 25. The lower beams 30 are fixed by welding to the end beam 25 in a manner continuous to the center-portion center beams 23. A substantially semicircular-shaped first end floor 26a is placed and welded onto upper end edges of side panels 30a constituting the lower beams 30 and an upper end edge of the end beam 25 (refer to FIGs. 3, 4 and 5).
The welded portion between the upper end edges of side panels 30a and the lower surface of the first end floor 26a is not necessarily welded across the whole length of the upper end edges, and can be welded intermittently considering collapse load and the like during collision. A pair of energy absorption devices 90 (only one of which is illustrated in FIG. 4) is disposed in a cantilever state along the longitudinal direction 100 at both end portions in the width direction 110 of the end beam 25.
The lower beams 30 are members each composed of a rectangular bottom panel 30b and side panels 30a standing on both end portions in the width direction 110 of the bottom panel 30b, and the cross-sectional shape of the lower beam crossing the longitudinal direction 100 is in a C-channel shape. The side panels 30a have slits 30as formed along the longitudinal direction 100. Similarly, the bottom panel 30b also has a similar slit 30bs formed thereto. These slits are formed to promote collapse of lower beams 30 or to adjust the collapse load to an appropriate level when the railway vehicle collides against an obstacle.
A gangway frame 40 (gangway frame columns 40a1) is formed to stand on an end portion on the upper surface (front end edge portion) in the longitudinal direction 100 of the first end floor 26a, and horseshoe-shaped first frame 50 and second frame 70 are disposed in the named order toward the center portion in the longitudinal direction 100 (refer to FIG. 2). The first frame 50 is disposed on an upper surface of the first end floor 26a, and the second frame 70 is disposed on an upper surface of a second end floor 26b (underframe 20) (refer to FIG. 3).
The gangway frame 40 is composed of a pair of gangway frame columns 40a1 standing on an end portion (front end edge portion) in the longitudinal direction 100 of the first end floor 26a, and a gangway frame horizontal beam 40a2 bridged on an upper end portion of the gangway frame 40a1. The cross-sectional shape of the gangway frame columns 40a1 is a rectangle having a dimension in the longitudinal direction 100 greater than a dimension in the width direction 110.
The gangway frame columns 40a1 are fixed via welding and the like to an upper surface of a first end panel 26a supported by the lower beams 30. A dimension L1 in the longitudinal direction 100 of the gangway frame columns 40a1 are set greater than a dimension L2 in the same direction of the corner posts 46. The ends in the longitudinal direction of the gangway frame columns 40a1 welded to the first end panel 26a (hereinafter referred to as front end portion) are positioned toward an end side in the longitudinal direction 100 (hereinafter referred to as front side) corresponding to longitudinal direction dimension L3 from the front end portion of the corner posts 46 (refer to FIG. 4).
End portions at a center portion side in the longitudinal direction 100 of the gangway frame columns 40a1 welded to the first end floor 26a (hereinafter referred to as rear end portion) is positioned to substantially correspond to a center portion in the longitudinal direction 100 of the lower beams 30 positioned below the first end panel 26a1.
Further, slits (notches) 15a along the width direction 110 are formed to the first end floor 26a1 at a center portion side in the longitudinal direction 100 of the gangway frame columns 40a1 (hereinafter referred to as rear side), and similar slits (notches) 15b are formed to the rear side of the corner posts 46 (refer to FIG. 6).
The slits 15a (15b) formed on the first end floor 26a1 and slits 30as (30ab) formed on the lower beams 30 described above are each configured of a groove portion, and oval hole portions 44 formed in a connected manner at both ends of the groove portion. A width dimension (short diameter) W2 of the hole portion 44 is set greater than a width dimension W1 of the groove portion (refer to FIG. 7). By providing hole portions 44, when the first end floor 26a1 and the lower beams 30 collapse, the collapse is progressed rapidly, for example, by cracks formed at both end portions of the slit, so as to prevent a predetermined amount of shock energy from not being absorbed.
The first frame 50 is composed of first frame columns 50a1 standing on both end portions in the width direction 110 of the first end floor 26a, and an arch-shaped first frame arc beam 50a2 bridged across the upper end portions of the first frame columns 50a1. Similarly, the second frame 70 is composed of second frame columns 71 a1 standing on both end portions in the width direction 110 of a second end floor 26b, and an arch-shaped second frame arc beam 70a2 bridged across the upper end portion of the second frame columns 71 a1 (refer to FIGs. 2 and 3).
The first frame arc beam 50a2 includes a first frame horizontal beam 50b with a form similar to a bowstring stretched substantially horizontally in an arc, wherein a pair of first frame upper columns 50v standing in the height direction 120 on the upper surface of the first frame horizontal beam 50b connects the lower surface of the first frame arc beam 50a2 and the upper surface of the first frame horizontal beam 50b. Similarly, the second frame arc beam 70a2 has a second frame horizontal beam 70b with a form similar to a bowstring stretched substantially horizontally in an arc (refer to FIG. 2).
The upper portion of the gangway frame 40 and the upper portion of the first frame 50 are connected by a pair of first vertical oblique beams 32u and a pair of first longitudinal beams 32L. The first vertical oblique beams 32u connect upper end portions of the gangway frame columns 40a1 constituting the gangway frame 40 (both end portions of the gangway frame horizontal beam 40a2) and connection portions between the first frame arc beam 50a2 and the first frame upper columns 50v in an oblique arrangement within a substantially vertical plane.
The first longitudinal beams 32L connect upper end portions of the gangway frame columns 40a1 (both end portions of the gangway frame horizontal beam 40a2) and the connection portions between the first frame horizontal beam 50b and the first frame upper columns 50v in a manner arranged along the longitudinal direction 100.
The first frame 50 and the second frame 70 are connected by a plurality of beams 62 arranged along an outer side surface of a roof structure body 9 and side structure bodies 7 constituting the vehicle body 3 and along the longitudinal direction 100 (refer to FIGs. 2 and 3).
Further, a pair of corner posts 46 are disposed on both sides in the width direction 110 of the gangway frame 40 in the rounded end structure body 18, the posts standing on the first end floor 26a and connected to both end portions in the width direction 110 of the first frame arc beam 50a2. At the center portions in the height direction 120 of the corner posts 46 are disposed reinforcement members 45 connecting the corner posts 46 and the gangway frame columns 40a1, and constituting a curved surface of the rounded end structure body 18.
A process will now be described where the rounded end structure body 18 collapses while absorbing impact when the railway vehicle 1 collides against an obstacle on the track or the like. It is assumed that the obstacle is a large-sized road vehicle, such as a truck stalled in a crossing.
When the railway vehicle 1 collides against an obstacle, the impact is transmitted to the coupler 4 and the folded gangway hood 16b. The impact absorbing mechanism (not shown) connected to the coupler 4 is compressed, and the coupler 4 is retreated toward the center portion in the longitudinal direction 100 of the railway vehicle 1 while absorbing impact. Thereafter, the gangway frame 40 including the gangway hood 16b is retreated, the energy absorption devices 90 and the lower beams 30 collapse, and the first end floor 26a is plastically deformed.
A lower area of a rear end portion of the gangway frame columns 40a1 constituting the gangway frame 40 is positioned substantially at a center portion in the longitudinal direction 100 of the lower beams 30, and the lower beams 30, the first end floor 26a and the gangway frame columns 40a1 are connected by welding. Therefore, when the gangway frame columns 40a1 are retreated by collision, the rear end portions of the gangway frame columns 40a are strongly pressed against an area 91 between the center portion of the lower beams 30 and the connection portions connecting the lower beams 30 and the end beam 25 (center portion in the width direction 110 of the first end floor 26a), so that the area 91 collapses rearward greatly, absorbing the collision energy (refer to FIG. 4).
When the gangway frame columns 40a1 retreat even further and a retreat amount exceeds L3, the energy absorption devices 90 are further collapsed and the areas 92 (both end portions in the width direction 110 of the first end floor 26a) start to collapse, absorbing the collision energy.
In other words, before the first end floor 26a disposed rearward of the corner posts 46 collapses and the energy absorption devices 90 disposed below the corner posts collapse by the retreating of corner posts 46 within the area 92 close to the crew's room 300, the lower beams 30 and the first end floor 26a collapse along with the retreating of gangway frame columns 40a1 in the area 91 that is distant from the crew's room 300 and a large amount of collision energy is absorbed, so that the amount of collapse of the area 92 can be reduced.
By adopting the above arrangement, when the railway vehicle having the end structure body 18 including the crew's room 300 collides against an obstacle, the amount of collapse in the longitudinal direction 100 at the center portion in the width direction of the first end floor 26a distant from the crew's room 300 (area 91) is set to be great, and the amount of collapse in the longitudinal direction 100 at both end portions in the width direction 110 of the first end floor 26a close to the crew's room 300 (area 92) is set to be small.
Therefore, the deformation of the crew's room 300 and the like can be suppressed, and a railway vehicle with a collision energy absorption structure capable of relieving the impact during collision without deteriorating the safety of the crew and the like can be provided.

Reference Signs List

1: Railway vehicle
3: Body
4: Coupler
5: Underframe
7: Side structure body
8: End structure body
9: Roof structure body
14a: Crew entrance
14b: Passenger entrance
16a: Gangway
16b: Gangway hood
18: Rounded end structure body (driver's cab)
20: Underframe
21: Body bolster
22: Side beam
23: Center-portion center beam
24: End-portion center beam
25: End beam
26a: First end floor
26b: Second end floor
30: Lower beam
30as, 30bs: Slit (notch)
32L: First longitudinal beam
32u: First vertical oblique beam
40: Gangway frame
40a1: Gangway frame column
40a2: Gangway frame horizontal beam
44: Hole portion
45: Reinforcement member
46: Corner post
50: First frame
50a1: First frame column
50a2: First frame arc beam
50b: First frame horizontal beam
50v: First frame upper column
62: Beam
70: Second frame
70a1: Second frame column
70a2: Second frame arc beam
70b: Second frame horizontal beam
80a, 80b: Entrance frame
90: Energy absorption device
91, 92: Deformation quantity
100: Longitudinal direction
110: Width direction
120: Height direction

Claims

A railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure configured to absorb collision energy,
a body of the railway vehicle comprising:
an underframe constituting a floor surface;

a lower beam fixed to an end beam disposed at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of the underframe;

a first end floor placed on an upper portion of the end beam and the lower beam;

a pair of gangway frame columns disposed on an upper surface of a front end portion at a center portion in a width direction of the first end floor and constituting a gangway frame;

a corner post disposed on an upper surface of a front end portion at an end portion in the width direction of the first end floor; and

a crew's room disposed rearward of the corner post;
wherein the gangway frame columns have a rectangular cross-section with a longitudinal dimension greater than a width dimension, and the lower beam has a center portion in the longitudinal direction positioned below a rear end portion of the gangway frame columns fixed to the first end floor.
The railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure according to claim 1,
wherein a front end portion of the corner post in contact with the first end floor is positioned rearward in the longitudinal direction than a front end portion of the gangway frame columns in contact with the first end floor.
The railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure according to claim 1,
wherein a collision energy absorption device absorbing collision energy is disposed in a cantilever state to the end beam below the corner post.
The railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure according to claim 1,
wherein slits extending in a width direction are formed on
the first end floor close to the rear end portion of the gangway frame columns, and
the first end floor close to a rear end portion of the corner post.
The railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure according to claim 1,
wherein the lower beam is composed of a rectangular bottom panel, and side panels standing on both end portions in a width direction of the bottom panel, a cross-sectional shape of the lower beam in the longitudinal direction being a C-channel shape.
The railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure according to claim 5,
wherein a slit disposed along a longitudinal direction of the lower beam is formed on the bottom panel.
The railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure according to claim 6,
wherein a slit disposed along the longitudinal direction of the lower beam is formed on the side panel.
The railway vehicle provided with a collision energy absorption structure according to any one of claims 4, 6 or 7,
wherein the slit comprises a groove portion, and hole portions provided on both end portions of the groove portion.