Since the last assignment, I spent some time looking over the designs and concept ideas the team has created involving the fail-safe mechanism. From looking at the team's personal assessment, it appears the team have similar thoughts on how to make the cabin safer. Although there are various details that differ, a primary concern that threatens the cabin is the possibility of the cabin falling from the tracks.
A common idea the team had involved adding a secondary wheel as a safety precaution. To implement the secondary wheel the designs reconfigured the guide-way. While this decision is unavoidable, it will raise the cost production for the guide-way. The secondary wheel to help reinforce the bogie was also installed which would help provide extra support while giving the bogie a way for the cabin to be properly transported if the bogie malfunctions.
A specific sketch that caught my attention was Jeffrey Chau due to the detail and concept. His steering mechanism utilizes the guide-way to with control the direction. While the original bogie already does this, the design created also provides extra support to relieve some stress from the other portions of the wheel. His second design involves a drastic change in the guide-way. While that probably isn't recommended for the project, he gave the guide-way additional tracks to help guide the bogie and provide direction. After some clarification, altercations to the guide-ways is recommended instead of reinventing the bogie or guide-way.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Initial Thoughts on Bogie Design
A primary concern for many riders will be if the bogie will be able to support the full weight of the cabin. Or people would be concern about getting stranded somewhere if the mechanism fails. While looking at the design created by the previous year, I noticed a lot of the functionality is centered around the large two wheels located around the center of the bogie. If these were to fail, the cabin would face a large predicament. By making the turning mechanism on the bogie into two separate parts, we can have an operator input commands into the outer lower wheels in case the larger ones fail. By allowing the outer lower wheels to rest on the railway, it can take some of the weight relieving the larger midsection wheels. This design should still work like the previous years design in turning. This design is a little bulkier but should be able to be optimized to be smaller and more cost efficient. The new railway design is more complex meaning it would also cost more but would provide more options in case of failure.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Further Research into Different Safety Mechanisms
A major concern many people will probably have upon seeing the Automated Transit Network (ATN) is "What if something breaks? Will the cabin fall?". While the current design of the bogie mechanism lacks a fail safe mechanism, studying other safety systems could provide the team with insight on how to approach the problem.
I started by reading about the differences between supported and hanging vehicles off a report found in the INIST Library. The report discussed how it is better to focus on the one-way guide-way system due to having half the amount of bulk as a two-way guide-way which means the cost is lower. For the supported-vehicle system, super-elevation in curves reduces the curve radii. Super-elevation is the defined as the difference in which the outer edge of a curve is banked above the inner edge in reference to roads or railroads. The hanging-vehicle system has more freedom to swing which would eliminate the need for super-elevation. The hanging-vehicle system is less complex and cheaper because it does not need the super-elevation.
A safety measure used for elevators is a hydraulic or gas spring buffer found at the bottom to help reduce the impact. Another safety measure found while digging could be borrowed from the trains. I came across an article where they reported people dying due to a train traveling at high speeds and derailing. The technology used is called positive train control (PTC) which uses digital airwaves and GPS to detect curves and slow down the vehicle accordingly to help prevent more derailment issues. This technology also prevents collisions and helps control the speed of the vehicle in required areas.
The diagram above shows how the train control system would operate. The center of this system that allows the information to be exchanged is the Radio Network which enables the on-board PTC systems, wayside interfacing unit and the PTC Back Office server to communicate. The Wayside Interfacing Unit helps monitor the overall status of the train and reports back to the office servers. And the on-board system provides more control over the vehicle by controlling the speed and braking with a stronger communication system. The sharing of information makes this system efficient and and able to prevent accidents. This technology would be great to incorporate into the Spartan Superway because it has yet to have these kind of features.
I started by reading about the differences between supported and hanging vehicles off a report found in the INIST Library. The report discussed how it is better to focus on the one-way guide-way system due to having half the amount of bulk as a two-way guide-way which means the cost is lower. For the supported-vehicle system, super-elevation in curves reduces the curve radii. Super-elevation is the defined as the difference in which the outer edge of a curve is banked above the inner edge in reference to roads or railroads. The hanging-vehicle system has more freedom to swing which would eliminate the need for super-elevation. The hanging-vehicle system is less complex and cheaper because it does not need the super-elevation.
A safety measure used for elevators is a hydraulic or gas spring buffer found at the bottom to help reduce the impact. Another safety measure found while digging could be borrowed from the trains. I came across an article where they reported people dying due to a train traveling at high speeds and derailing. The technology used is called positive train control (PTC) which uses digital airwaves and GPS to detect curves and slow down the vehicle accordingly to help prevent more derailment issues. This technology also prevents collisions and helps control the speed of the vehicle in required areas.
The diagram above shows how the train control system would operate. The center of this system that allows the information to be exchanged is the Radio Network which enables the on-board PTC systems, wayside interfacing unit and the PTC Back Office server to communicate. The Wayside Interfacing Unit helps monitor the overall status of the train and reports back to the office servers. And the on-board system provides more control over the vehicle by controlling the speed and braking with a stronger communication system. The sharing of information makes this system efficient and and able to prevent accidents. This technology would be great to incorporate into the Spartan Superway because it has yet to have these kind of features.
Works Cited:
Anderson, J.E. "Tradeoff between Internal Combustion Engined Vehicles and Electric Vehicles in Hong Kong." (n.d.): n. pag. INIST Library. Web.
Glenza, Jessica. "Amtrak Crash: Safety Mechanism to Slow Speeding Trains Was Close to Operational." Theguardian. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Positive Train Control (PTC)." Tech Mahindra. N.p., n.d. Web.
Summary of September 2 Meeting
During the class meeting on September 2, 2015, the session began with some mentors and alumni from previous years giving a quick introduction. Every member of the class then followed by presenting about what they learned from reading previous reports or findings and what sparked their interests in the Spartan Superway project. The sharing of ideas provided students with the opportunities to figure out which part of the project they wanted to focus on specifically. After each student completed their short speeches, the mentors commented on how the presentations went and then directed the attention to the event planner who gave the announcements for the upcoming events. After the announcements, the class was given a tour of the facility. The students were then allowed to pick a focus in which they were interested in. General areas included the 12th scale model and the large scale model.
Of the focuses available, I chose to join the large scale model subgroup. The reason I chose the large scale model subgroup was due to my interest on working on the bogie mechanism. I believe working on the bogie mechanism would enable me to learn more about mechanical design. I am also very intrigued with how the team will be able to incorporate a fail safe mechanism that meets the safety regulations. Another project category I would like to work on is designing the cabin. The concept appears to be of interest and enriching.
After splitting off into our groups, we divided the large scale model group into two smaller groups. One group would work on the suspensions while the other focused on the bogie. I chose to work on the bogie and then got to meet others who share the same interest and will likely be my group. With the remaining time, we exchanged ideas and talked about restraints we would have to take into account when working on design ideas. The discussion was stimulating and productive for me. It encouraged me to look more into other fail mechanisms to see how they work.
Of the focuses available, I chose to join the large scale model subgroup. The reason I chose the large scale model subgroup was due to my interest on working on the bogie mechanism. I believe working on the bogie mechanism would enable me to learn more about mechanical design. I am also very intrigued with how the team will be able to incorporate a fail safe mechanism that meets the safety regulations. Another project category I would like to work on is designing the cabin. The concept appears to be of interest and enriching.
After splitting off into our groups, we divided the large scale model group into two smaller groups. One group would work on the suspensions while the other focused on the bogie. I chose to work on the bogie and then got to meet others who share the same interest and will likely be my group. With the remaining time, we exchanged ideas and talked about restraints we would have to take into account when working on design ideas. The discussion was stimulating and productive for me. It encouraged me to look more into other fail mechanisms to see how they work.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Steven Luong
Steven Luong
Steven Luong is a student at San Jose State University (SJSU) majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Steven is part of the bogie team. He chose to work on the Spartan Superway because he is primarily interested in working on the fail safe mechanism and learning more about Mechanical Design. Steven has gone to Taiwan with the program called Global Technology Initiative (GTI), where he got to explore industrial sites and work with international students. The experience gave him the opportunity learn more about working with others as well as overcoming obstacles like language barriers and cultural differences. Steven has worked with the SJSU Admissions Office for the past year and helps record documents into the school system. Outside of his academic life, Steven enjoys watching television, light reading, and spending time with family and friends.
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