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Alstom receives innovation trophy at Sifer
Published: Fri, 2015-03-27 12:27-
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For the development of its « bi-modal » damper
Alstom was awarded an innovation trophy for the development of its « bi-modal » damper at the Sifer railway salon, held in Lille on 24-26 March.
The hydraulic « bi-modal » damper developed by Alstom Transport aims to reduce maintenance costs while simultaneously increasing passenger comfort. The damper reduces wear on the wheel through the specific internal management of oil flows, thus limiting friction between the wheel and the rail on curves.
«The tests carried out on two TGV Lyria trains in collaboration with SNCF’s Material Engineering Centre have demonstrated a 20% reduction in attrition on the wheels. This reduces maintenance costs as a result: fewer interventions on infrastructure and less frequent wheel reprofiling, which reduces train downtime,” says Cyril Renault, director of DISPEN.
Particularly adapted for winding tracks, the « bi-modal » damper is 100% mechanical. It functions in complete autonomy, without external control. Thanks to its size, identical to the size of a classic damper, it can be replaced without needing to adapt the train, thus facilitating the evolution of the fleet. The savings generated by the bi-modal damper in terms of wheel/rail maintenance enable a rapid return on investment for operators.
Developed since 2013 by Alstom Transport, the bi-modal damper is patented. It was conceived at Alstom’s DISPEN centre, specialised in the development, manufacture and maintenance of dampers for the rail industry.
These dampers equip all bogies used on Alstom trains and are also sold directly to operators. Based at Le Creusot (Bourgogne), the DISPEN centre has 33 employees.
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