Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1
This invention relates to a wall module for a car
body, particularly for railway vehicles, having walls with
outer layers of fiber-reinforced material which enclose
longitudinal frame members as well as filler material. The
~i invention also relates to a method for the manufacture of. such
a wall module.
This invention relates to a wall module as described
in the introduction to claim 1, as well as a method for the
manufacture of the wall module.
l0 On a car body, wall modules are used (DE 38 38 686
A1) that consist of two prefabricated outer covering layers
made of fiber-reinforced laminate, between which is glued a
prefabricated grid structure that consists of frame members
that are oriented at right angles to one another and are firmly
15 connected to one another. The cavities between the outer
layers and the individual grid fields are filled with honeycomb
segments cut to fit, except for the locations in which the
corresponding grid fields are going to be used for window or
door openings. The honeycomb core plates are also firmly glued
2Ci to the inner sides of both outer layers. The placement of the
frame members is thereby selected as a function of the location
of the specified door and window openings. A structure of this
type requires separate manufacturing processes for the finished
outer layers and for the grid frame, and then a further
2~~ production step to connect them to one another.
The object of the invention is to create a wall
module as described that has a high rigidity at least in the
longitudinal direction of the car body and can be manufactured
easily.
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The invention provides a wall module for a car body,
said wall module having walls which are made of outer layers
made of fiber-reinforced material, between which there are
frame members that run ;parallel to the longitudinal direction
of the car body and at right angles to the longitudinal
direction, as well as filler material, all of which are firmly
connected to the outer layers, characterized by the fact that
there are more than three frame members that run parallel. to
the longitudinal axis of the car body in one piece, except in
to the vicinity of a window or a door opening and extend over a
large part of the entire length of the wall module said frame
members intersecting at points and being firmly connected to
one another at each intersection point by means of a node
element, and that at least the frame members that run in the
1~> longitudinal direction of the car body are made of a material
that has a higher modulus of elasticity than the outer layers.
The invention also provides a method for the
manufacture of wall modules as claimed in any one of claims 1
to 6, characterized by vthe fact that a first fiber-reinforced
2Ci blank is laid flat in a module mold, that the frame members are
laid in an intersecting arrangement on top of the first fiber-
reinforced blank, that connecting nodes are applied to the
intersection points of the frame members, that filler plates,
rigid expanded foam planes or plates made of honeycomb
2~~ material, all of the appropriate dimensions, are inserted into
cavities formed between the intersecting frame members, that a
second fiber-reinforced blank is laid flat placed on top of the
frame members with the :inserted filler plates, rigid expanded
foam plates or plates m;~de of honeycomb material, that then the
3Ci fiber-reinforced blanks and the cavities between them are
saturated with a castin~l resin and that the casting resin is
then cured.
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lb
In one configuration of a wall module of the
invention, a high longitudinal rigidity is achieved by the use
of an increased number of frame members that run in the
longitudinal direction of the car body, which frame members
~i preferably extend in one piece over the entire length of the
wall module and are interrupted only in the vicinity of t:he
door and window openings. The frame members that run
perpendicular to the above frame members or in the peripheral
direction are interrupted at each longitudinally oriented frame
member, but are
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positioned three-dimensionally by means of a node element that is offset
laterally with
respect to the longitudinally oriented frame members. The node elements
thereby have at
least two arms that project at an angle to one another, and the uoss sections
of which
are adapted to the cross section of the abutting frame members that are to be
held in
position. The frame members can thereby be made in particular of fiber-
reinforced
material, which is of a type that is compatible with the material of the outer
layers. At least
the frame members that run in the longitudinal direction of the car body are
thereby made
of a material that has a higher modulus of elasticity than the outer layers.
When a car
body constructed in this manner has a high longitudinal stability, the outer
layers therefore
do not need to be designed to absorb the longitudinal forces that occur during
operation
or in the event of accidents. The use of very advanced and thus expensive
materials can
thereby be limited to the frame members that run in the longitudinal
direction, whereby the
upper or lower frame members can be designed in the form of upper members or
longitudinal members.
When a high level of rigidity is required, however, the frame members that run
crossvsilse
and possibly also the node elements can thereby be made of the material that
has the
higher modulus of elastiaty. The frame members are realized in the form of
profiles, in
particular in the fomn of hollow profiles. They are preferably also located in
spaces where
seats, luggage racks and similar internal fittings must be fastened.
A wall module constructed in this manner is manufactured in particular by
inserting, into a
workpiece mold configured so that it corresponds to the desired plane or
curved
configuration of a wall module, a dry blank made of fiber-reinforced material,
in particular
a blank made of textile fiber-reinforced pre-fom~s or flat fiber reinforced
blanks. The frame
members to be used for the longitudinal direction are then laid on this fiber
reinforced
blank and between them the individual parts of the frame members that are
oriented
transverse to the longitudinal members are inserted and a mutual positioning
of these
frame members at the butt joints or the intersections of the frame members is
accomplished by means of the node elements, which merely have to be attached
to the
frame members. The node elements are thereby also preferably made of a fiber
reinforced material and can also be connected by means of an adhesive compound
to the
frame members to be .fixed in position so that they provide static support
even during the
assembly process. The cavities that are thereby formed between the
intersecting frame
members are then filled with cut-to-fit rigid expanded foam plates or
honeycomb material.
On the exposed side of the frame members and of the rigid expanded
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foam plates, all that is necessary is to place a second dry fiber-reinfon~d
blank, and the
entire system is then saturated with a casting resin and cured. because the
casting resin
structure penetrates the fiber reinforced blank, an adhesive connection with
the frame
members and the rigid expanded foam plates is also achieved, whereby casting
resin also
penetrates into the cavities in between the various eler~lents. The saturation
can thereby
be carried out in particular using a vacuum bag or vacuum injection process,
so that an
intensive and reliable saturation and filling of cavities and a smooth
configuration of the
surface of the outer layer facing away from the mold is also achieved.
The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the
exemplary
embodiment that is illustrated in the accompanying schematic diagrams.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal segment of the car body of a railway vehicle or
bus,
and
Figure 2 is an enlarged detail X of the system illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1 shows only a Longitudinal segment of a wall module 1 of a car body,
which can
contain, in addition to window openings 2, also door openings or similar
openings. The
wall module 1, when completed, forms a one-piece hollow tubular body that has
a floor
wall 3, side walls 4 and a roof wall 5 and corresponds to the outer contour
and the inner
contour of a car body. Both an outer covering layer 6 and an inner covering
layer are
thereby fom~ed of fiber-reinforced material saturated with casting resin.
The individual walls 3, 4, 5, have a structure between the outer layers 6, 7
that functions
as a supporting skeleton and at least largely relieves the outer layers 6, 7
of the loads
that occur during the operation of the vehicle. The structure thereby consists
of
intersecting frame members 8 and 9, whereby the one-piece frame members 8 that
run in
the horizontal direction and are thereby parallel to the longitudinal
direction of the car
body 8 extend over the entire length of the car body, except where an
interruption
becomes necessary as a result of window openings 2, door openings or similar
openings.
In the walls 3, 4, 5, the vertical frame members 9 that are perpendicular to
these
longitudinal members and run in the peripheral direction are
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in contact at least mostly continuously with the related side flanks of the
frame members 8
that nrn in the longitudinal direction of the car body, which frame members 8
have a
rectangular cross section. The horizontal frame members 8 that nrn in the
longitudinal
direction of the car body are made of~a material that has a higher modulus of
elasticity
than the outer layers 6, 7. These frame members 8 contribute to the high
buckling
strength of the car body in the longitudinal direction, a characteristic which
is necessary in
operation and in particular in the event of accidents. If the car body is also
designed to
have a high budding strength in the peripheral direction, then the frame
members 9 that
run in the peripheral direction can also be made of the same material. In that
case, it is
particularly appropriate to also make these frame members out of fiber-
reinforced material
that is saturated with casting resin, so that a reliable adhesive mechanical
connection can
be achieved between the frame 8, 9 and the outer layers 6, 7.
To fix the frame members 8, 9 in position and to achieve a reliable connection
between
the intersecting frame members 8, 9, there are node elements 10, through which
the
frame members 8 that run in the longitudinal direction extend without
intemaption, while
the frame members 9 that are oriented transversely in relation to the
longitudinal
members in the peripheral direction of the car body are engaged by means of
each of
their ends in one of the node elements. The individual arms of the node
elements 10 can
thereby have a dosed cross section that matches as closely as possible the
cross section
of the frame members 8, 9 to be assembled with it_ The plug-in connection
thereby
provides a completely rigid assembly of the frame members 8, 9. Preferably,
however, the
frame members 9 are connected to the node elements 10 by means of adhesive. It
may
thereby be appropriate to also manufacture the node elements 10 from a
material that has
a high modulus of elasticity.
Cavities 11 between the individual frame members 8, 9 and the cover layers 6,
7 are or
become filled with a self supporting thermal isolation material 12 in the form
of rigid
expanded foam plates. honeycomb core plates etc. and are also connected with
the
surrounding structural elements 6, 7, 8, 9 by means of adhesive.
Trie car body can be manufactured from a single wall module. However, it is
also
possible, for example, to manufacture the side walls 4 and the floor wall 3 as
one piece,
and to manufacture tfie roof wall separately from them. The roof module then
only needs
to be placed on the trough-like lower module, to which it can be finely
connected, by
means of adhesive, far example.
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A wall module is thereby preferably manufactured by inserting a first fiber-
reinforced blank
flat in a module mold. On this fiber-reinforced blank, the frame can then be
constructed
from the intersecting frame members 8, 9 including the node elements 10. Then
the
cavities 11 between the frame members 8, 9 are filled, as necessary, with self-
supporting
thermal andlor acoustical insulation material 12. Then a second fiber
reinforced blank ran
be placed on the exposed side of the frame, including the insulation 12,
unless when the
respective wall module is realized in the form of a shell or as a flat
component, the first
fiber reinforced blank can be placed in com3sponding fashion on the surface to
be
covered. By saturating the entire system with casting resin and curing or
hardening the
system, the desired adhesive connection is achieved between the fiber-
reinforced blanks,
the frame members and the them~al insulation, including the node elements. It
is thereby
appropriate, as early as when the frame is being assembled, to introduce the
adhesive or
casting resin between the node elements 10 and the frame members 8. 9, to
achieve an
adhesive connection of the plug-in connections over a wide area. Further
improvement
can be achieved by saturating the entire system with the use of a vacuum bag
or vacuum
injection process, so that the casting resin or a corresponding material fills
up all the
existing cavities and spaces and eliminates as many air spaces as possible.
With this stnrcture, moreover, the lower or lateral longitudinal frame members
8.1 in the
vicinity of the comer between the floor wall 3 and the side walls 4 can be
designed in the
form of continuous longitudinal beams and in the form of a continuous upper
member at
the transition between the side walls 4 and the roof wall 5. In this
structure, the saturated
fiber blanks simultaneously form the outer cover layer 6 and the inner cover
layer 7, which
can be manufactured in the module mold so that they have smooth surfaces, and
therefore require very little or no mechanical finishing in the form of
grinding, smoothing
etc_
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