14-01-2013, 03:47 PM
RESEARCH DESIGNS
AND STANDARDS ORGANISATION
RESEARCH DESIGNS.docx (Size: 1.57 MB / Downloads: 35)
INTRODUCTION
Railways were introduced in India in 1853 and as their development progressed through to the twentieth century, several company managed and state-owned railway systems grew up. To enforce standardisation and co-ordination amongst various railway systems, the Indian Railway Conference Association (IRCA) was set up in 1903, followed by the Central Standards Office (CSO) in 1930, for preparation of designs, standards and specifications. However, till independence, most of the designs and manufacture of railway equipments was entrusted to foreign consultants. With Independence and the resultant phenomenal increase in country’s industrial and economic activity, which increased the demand of rail transportation - a new organisation called Railway Testing and Research Centre (RTRC) was setup in 1952 at Lucknow, for testing and conducting applied research for development of railway rolling stock, permanent way etc.
FUNCTIONS
RDSO is the sole R&D organisation of Indian Railways and functions as the technical advisor to Railway Board, Zonal Railways and Production Units and performs the following important functions :
= Development of new and improved designs.
Development, adoption, absorption of new technology for use on Indian Railways.
Development of standards for materials and products specially needed by Indian Railways.
Technical investigation, statutory clearances, testing and providing consultancy services.
Inspection of critical and safety items of rolling stock, locomotives, signalling & telecommunication equipment and track components.
RDSO’s multifarious activities have also attracted attention of railway and non-railway organisations in India and abroad.
ENGINE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORATE
3300/3600 HP Engine Test Bed 4000 HP EMD-710 G3B Engine Test Bed
ABOUT THE DIRECTORATE:
Set up in 1987 with state-of-art facilities, the Engine Development Directorate is engaged in:
Improvement in Railway Diesel Engine technology for
• • Better Fuel Efficiency
• • Higher Reliability
• • Increased Availability
Development of technology for increasing Power Output of existing Diesel Engines.
Development of new Traction Diesel Engines.
Providing R&D backup to Zonal Railways and Locomotive Production/Rebuilding Units
• Improve Quality
• Facilitate Indigenisation
HOW DIESEL ENGINES WORK
In mechanical terms, the internal construction of a diesel engine is similar to its gasoline counterpart—components such as pistons, connecting rods and a crankshaft are present in both. Like a gasoline engine, a diesel engine may operate on a four-stroke cycle (similar to the gasoline unit's Otto cycle), or a two-stroke cycle, albeit with significant dissimilarity to the gasoline equivalent. In both cases, the principal differences lie in the handling of air and fuel, and the method of ignition.
A diesel engine relies upon compression ignition to burn its fuel, instead of the spark plug used in a gasoline engine. If air is compressed to a high degree, its temperature will increase to a point where fuel will burn upon contact. This principle is used in both four-stroke and two-stroke diesel engines to produce power.Unlike a gasoline engine, which draws an air/fuel mixture into the cylinder during the intake stroke, the diesel aspirates air alone. Following intake, the cylinder is sealed and the air charge is highly compressed to heat it to the temperature required for ignition. Whereas a gasoline engine's compression ratio is rarely greater than 11:1 to avoid damaging preignition, a diesel's compression ratio is usually between 16:1 and 25:1. This extremely high level of compression causes the air temperature to increase to 700 to 900 degrees Celsius (1300 to 1650 degrees Fahrenheit).