52nd Rolling Mills Operating Committee Meeting (Technological Advances in Rolling Mills)

Technical Session –IV

Dt.-15.02.2019

Ashok Kumar Kar

Manas Ranjan Mishra Centre for Engineering & Technology

Steel Authority of India Ltd.

Experience that delivers

Make in India – Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) Coach Wheels

Development of Railways in India

19th century

1930’s 1960’s

LHB Coach

2000’s

1925

1956

What is LHB?

Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB)

LHB coaches are the passenger coaches developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany (renamed Alstom LHB GmbH in 1998 after the takeover by Alstom)

Initially, 24 air conditioned coaches were imported from Germany for use in the Shatabdi Expresses

Indian Railways - Acquired the technology (from Germany) : 1995

Manufacturing began in RCF : 2001

Producers in India : Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala

: Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur

Major parameters of LHB coaches

Designed operating speed up to 160 km/h (can go up to 200 km/h)

length 23.54 m

width 3.24 m (higher passenger capacity)

Tare weight of the AC chair car 39.5 tonnes

COACH

I.C.F L.H.B

• Integral Coach Factory • 140 km/h • Noise level 100 db

• Needs more maintenance

• Linke Hoffmann Busch • 160 km/h • Noise level 60 db • More safe • More seating capacity

Dimensions of Coach Shell

I.C.F L.H.B

Length with Buffer 22296 mm 24000 mm

Length without Buffer 21336 mm 23540 mm

Width 3245 mm 3030 mm

Life 25 years 30 years

Types of Coach used in india

I.C.F L.H.B

Dashpot type suspension system

Axle mounted suspension system

Thread Brakes Disc Brakes

Screw Coupling Center Buffer Coupling

Merits & De-merits of LHB Coaches Merits

• More safe

• Seating capacity is more as coaches are 1.7 meters longer than the conventional ICF coaches (normally 3A -64 seats & SL-72 seats, but LHB rakes 3A - 72 seats & SL-78 seats)

• High durability of the bogie and requires less maintenance, as coaches are equipped with FIAT bogie, which has lesser moving parts than the ICF bogie

• Weight per meter is less than that of ICF coach and is easier to haul

• Materials used for manufacturing are of superior quality and require less maintenance

• Coaches are equipped with “Controlled Discharge Toilet System” (CDTS) and Bio-toilets, which are environmental friendly

• The coaches have Modular interiors and the Air Conditioning in theses coaches is of higher capacity and is controlled by a micro-processor

• 40% less noise generation as compared to ICF coaches De-merits

• Experience more jerks due to CBC coupling

• Not self-power generating like ICF coaches (separate generator car has to be

used for its power usage purpose)

Why we need LHB Coaches ?

According to accidental report of railways • In 2014-16, 17 trains having ICF coaches met accidents, resulted in 431 deaths &

injury of 866 people where as , 3 derailments that LHB coaches met , killed 4 people & injured 8

• On 19th August 2018, 13 ICF coaches of Utkal Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh, killing more than 20, in comparison on 29th August, 9 LHB coaches of Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed, there were no casualties

Why LHB Train Coaches are Safer?

Reason behind the safer LHB Train Coaches

• Anti-telescopic & do not penetrate into the adjacent coaches in case of accidents

• Center Buffer Coupling (CBC), instead of the dual buffer system prevents coaches climbing on the adjacent coaches during collision or derailment

• Advanced pneumatic disc brake system for efficient braking at higher speeds

Coaches of derailed Rajdhani express near chhapra

As safety has been the main priority, Indian Railways had decided to fully go with Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) design coaches and stopped production of the old ICF design coaches with effect from April 2018

Decided to replace conventional ICF design coaches of Mail or Express trains with LHB design coaches in a phased manner and from April 2018 onwards

IR’s Production Plants are now 100% LHB Coach Manufacturing Units; all Railway Workshops modernized

LHB coaches manufactured in India • Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala , Punjab • Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur, Chennai • Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh

Trains on which these coaches used are • Rajdhani • Duronto • Shatabdi • Super fast trains (But gradually will be used in all trains)

Decisions Taken by Ministry of Railways

ICF Coach wheel

LHB Coach wheel

Present share LHB coaches is about 10% (6000-7000) expected to go up sharply in near future

LHB FIAT BOGIE

Manufacturing cost of Pure LHB rake is higher than that of conventional ICF rake In order to cut the costs the Research Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO),the R&D

and technical advisory wing of IR came up with an idea that involved mounting of the LHB shell on modified ICF bogies with secondary air suspension and including a yaw damper for improved riding quality

LHB shell + Fiat Bogie = Pure LHB coach LHB shell + Modified ICF bogie = Hybrid LHB coach

De-merits

• Less safe than LHB coach and LHB coach have many other features too • Speed – 130 km/h (max.) • Better suspension system in LHB coaches

Rajdhani express & many premium trains-LHB rakes some Duronto express-Hybrid LHB rakes

Hybrid LHB Coach

ICF Bogie

Fiat Bogie

Under the “Make in India” project, Indian Railways has planned LHB coaches, with each and every component made in the country

SAIL is also geared up to supply wheels for LHB coaches to Indian Railways which are currently being imported

Currently, SAIL is the only domestic producer of forged wheels which are used for high speed trains and locomotives

In order to meet the “Make in India” initiative for LHB coaches, Wheel & Axle Plant (WAP) of Durgapur Steel Plant has framed a production plan, looking into the demand scenario of Indian Railways

Decision Taken by SAIL

Year No. of LHB wheels

2018-19 200

Coming 3 to 5 years 40,000-75,000

Coming 5 to 7 years 75,000-85,000

Standard Terminology for Wheels

LHB Wheel Making Process

BOF

Ladle Furnace Vacuum Arc Degassing (VAD) Bottom Pouring/cast

round

Ingot Cutting

Wheel blocks re-heating Upsetting, forging and punching

Forged wheel heating

Wheel Rolling

Dishing followed by

hot stamping Austenizing

Rim Quenching Tempering

Black wheel storage Wheel

Machining/balancing

Shot Peening Full body Ultrasonic,

Magnetic Particle

Inspection and

Hardness Testing

Finished

Wheel

WHEEL ROLLING

INDIAN RAILWAY STANDARD – IRS R-19/93 PART –ii (REV 4),

CORRIGENDUM -1, 2015

DIFFERENCE FROM CONVENTIONAL COACH WHEEL

- STEEL MADE BY ELECTRIC OR BOF WITH SECONDARY REFINING FACILITY

- HYDROGEN DETERMINATION FACILITY IN TUNDISH

- DYNAMIC BALANCING OF WHEELS

- TENSILE STRENGTH OF WEB 750-850 N/MM2

- 100% ULTRASONIC TESTING OF WEB

APPLICABLE STANDARD

Quality of steel required in manufacturing of LHB wheels o Steel making - Electric or Basic Oxygen process o killed quality forged steel o Hydrogen (H2) content - 3 ppm (max.) o Nitrogen (N2) content - 0.007% (max.)

LHB is low stress, high speed wheels for BG coaches Finite element analysis of LHB wheel has shown that it gives almost 50 %

less thermal stress & upto 15 % less mechanical stress compared to the straight plate wheels

LHB Wheel Parameters

Differences in Dimensions of BG coach and LHB wheel

Dimensions BG Coach Wheel LHB Wheel

O.D. 918 918

I.D. (Front) 762 800

I.D. (Back) 800 805

Bore 165 184

Rim Thickness 130 131

Hub Length 190.5 190.05

Hub Dia. 260 245

Web at Hub 29 29

Web at Rim 19 14

Front side radius at Rim 38 45

Back side radius at Rim 38 35

WHEEL PLANT HAS TAKEN UP LHB WHEEL PRODUCTION

DIE DESIGN OF WHEEL PRESS (63 MN) COMPLETED

ROLL DESIGN OF WHEEL ROLLING MILL COMPLETED

200 WHEELS FORGED AND ROLLED AS PER PLAN OF 2018-

19

HEAT TREATMENT OF 200 WHEELS COMPLETED

TENSILE STRESS, RESIDUAL STRESS/ OTHER

DESTRUCTIVE TESTS COMPLETED/ ACCEPTED BY RDSO

MACHINING/BALANCING OF 50 WHEELS COMPLETED

NDT TESTING FOR 50 WHEELS STARTED

BY 2026, ~75000 LHB COACH WHEELS PLANNED

Development of LHB Wheel at DSP

INDIAN RAILWAY-THE CARRIER OF COMMON MAN, IS SET TO INDUCT MORE LINKE HOFFMAN BUSCH (LHB) COACHES WITH ANTI-COLLISION TECHNOLOGY FOR SAFETY OF ITS PASSENGERS

SAIL IS COMMITTED TO FULFIL THE ENDEAVOUR BY SUPPLYING LHB WHEELS/ AXLES FOR INDIAN RAILWAY COACHES