25/06/2015

[IRFCA]BrakesystemsusedbyIR

Comparison of air brakes and vacuum brakes

Parameter

AirBrakes

VacuumBrakes

Principle
of
working

Thecompressedairisusedforobtainingbrakeapplication.Thebrakepipe
andfeedpiperunthroughoutthelengthofthecoach.Brakepipeandfeed
pipeonconsecutivecoachesinthetrainarecoupledtooneanotherby
meansofrespectivehosecouplingstoformacontinuousairpassagefrom
thelocomotivetotherearendofthetrain.Thecompressedairissupplied
tothebrakepipeandfeedpipefromthelocomotive.Themagnitudeof
brakingforceincreasesinstepswiththecorrespondingreductioninbrake
pipepressureandviceversa.

Thevacuumbrakesystemderivesitsbrakeforcefromthe
atmosphericpressureactingonthelowersideofthepiston
inthevacuumbrakecylinderwhileavacuumismaintained
abovethepiston.Thetrainpiperunsthroughoutthelength
ofthecoachandconnectedwithconsecutivecoachesby
hosecoupling.Thevacuumiscreatedinthetrainpipeand
thevacuumcylinderbytheejectororexhaustermounted
onthelocomotive.

Pressure

Effectivecylinderpressure=3.8kg/cm2
Feedpipe6kg/cm2
Brakepipe5kg/cm2

Effectivepressureonpiston0.kg/cm2
Nominalvacuumontrainpipe510mm.

Pipe
diameter

Feedpipe&25Bore
Brakepipe&25Bore

Trainpipe&50Bore

Components of air brake and vacuum brake systems

AirBrakes

VacuumBrakes

Brakepipeandfeedpipe(twinpipesystemforcoachingstock,single
pipesystemforgoodsstock).

Trainpipesinglepipe

Airbrakecylinder355mmdia

Vacuumbrakecylinder24"type'F'

DistributorValve

PassengerEmergencyAlarmSignalDevice

Alarmchainapparatus

PassengerEmergencyValve

ClappetValve

Guard'sEmergencyValve

Guard'sVanValve

SlackAdjuster

SlackAdjuster

DirectAdmissionValve

Hosecouplingforbrakepipeandfeedpipe

Hosecouplingfortrainpipe

Auxiliaryreservoir100lcapacity

Vacuumreservoir320lcapacity

CutoffAnglecock

Checkvalvewithchoke

Dirtcollector

Advantages of air brakes over vacuum brakes

Parameters

AirBrakes

VacuumBrakes

Emergencybrakingdistance(4500t
leveltrack,65kmph)

632m

1097m

Brakepowerfading

Nofading

Atleastby20%

Weightofequipmentperwagon
(approx.)

275kg

700kg

PressureGradient

Noappreciabledifferenceinairpressurebetweenlocomotive
andbrakevanupto2000m.

Steepreductioninvacuumintrains
longerthan600m.

Preparationtimeindepartureyards(45
BOXor58BOXN)

Lessthan40minutes.

Upto4hours.

Safetyondowngradients

Verysafe

Needsadditionalprecautions

Overallreliability

Verygood

Satisfactory

Schematic diagrams
SinglepipeSystem

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[IRFCA]BrakesystemsusedbyIR

TwinpipeSystem

Comparison of singlepipe and twinpipe systems

Parameters

SinglePipe

TwinPipe

Principleof
operation

Theoperationissame
asthatofthetwinpipe
systemexceptthatthe
auxiliaryreservoiris
chargedthroughthe
D.V.insteadoffeed
pipe,sincethereisno
feedpipeinsinglepipe
system.

TheBrakepipeischargedto5kg/cm2bythedriver'sbrakevalve.Theauxiliaryreservoirischargedbythe
feedpipeat6kg/cm2throughacheckvalveandchoke.Thebrakecylinderisconnectedtotheatmosphere
throughaholeintheD.V.whenbrakesareunderfullyreleasedcondition.Toapplybrakes,thedrivermoves
automaticbrakevalvehandleeitherinstepsforagraduatedapplicationorinonestroketotheextreme
positionforemergencyapplication.Bythismovementthebrakepipepressureisreducedandthepressure
differencedissensedbytheD.V.againstthereferencepressurelockedinthecontrolreservoir.Airfromthe
auxiliaryreservoirenterthebrakecylinderandthebrakesareapplied.Atthetimeofreleasetheairinthe
brakecylinderisventedprogressivelydependingupontheincreaseinthebrakepipepressure.Whenthe
brakepipepressurereaches4.8kg/cm2thebrakecylinderiscompletelyexhaustedandbrakesarefully
released.

Charging
auxiliary
reservoir

Discontinuedduring
brakeapplication

Uninterrupted

B.C.and
A.R.
pressure
equalisation

Occursduring
prolongedbrake
application

Doesnotoccur

Releaseof
brakes
(reduction
inbrake
cylinder
pressure)

Proportionatetobuild
upofA.Rpressure

Auxiliaryreservoiriscontinuouslychargedthroughfeedpipe

Leakagein
brake
cylinder
during
application

Duringemergency
application,feedfor
auxiliaryreservoir
frombrakepipeis
discontinued.Leakages
inbrakecylinderwill
thereforereduce
brakingforcesince
auxiliaryreservoirmay

Auxiliaryreservoiriscontinuouslychargedthroughfeedpipeandhenceleakagesinbrakecylindercanbe
equalisedevenduringemergencyapplicationensuringfullbrakeforce.

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[IRFCA]BrakesystemsusedbyIR
notbeabletoequalise
theleakages.

Colour

BrakepipeGreen
FeedpipeWhite

Pressure

Brakepipe5kg/cm2

Brakepipe5kg/cm2
Feedpipe6kg/cm2

Comparison of conventional and bogiemounted air brakes

Parameters

ConventionalAirBrakes

BogiemountedAirBrakes

Bogiecylindermountinglocation

Underframe

Bogieframe

No.ofairbrakecylinders/coach

Sizeofcylinder

14"

8"

Slackadjuster

External

Integralwiththeairbrakecylinder

Brakeblock

Conventional

Highfriction'K'typecompositeblock

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