A lubricating mist – a mixture of lubricant and gas – is used for lubricating the wheels of trains and trams. The lubricant is kept in one reservoir shared between several wheels. The lubricant is mixed with gas at the reservoir (most often with air), after which it must be fed to the wheels. However, an equal amount of lubricating mist must be supplied to each wheel. In order to separate the stream, we currently use a separator: most often this consists of a body with a quite complicated division of non-smooth channels with a range of sharp transitions. These change the direction of the flow of the lubricating mist and its rate. The negative effect of their use are the complex flow characteristics, non-uniformity of the mist flow, whirling and deposition of the lubricant on some channel walls, etc.Prof. RNDr. Ing. Josef Nevrlý, CSc. of BUT has designed a cascade system to eliminate these drawbacks, and which is protected by the IPO CZ as a utility model entitled: “System for the Sequential Division of an Amount of Lubricating Mist”.
Figure No. 1: The old method of distributing lubrication mist.
Figure No. 2: New solution to distributing lubrication mist by BUT.
Lubrication mist inlet, Lubrication mist outlets, The separating part of supply pipe, Connection, Distributing pipe, Throttle regulation elements, Outlets of lubrication mist distribution.
The principle underlying this design is the attempt to change the initial flow direction as little as possible, and to ensure inner surface are without any unevenness. Lubrication mist can be fed through tubes or hoses. Single streams of the lubrication mist are separated using a dividing part of the distribution pipe. Each stream is separated so that the newly formed streams form at the smallest possible angle and divert from the initial direction as little as possible. The clear area is also divided with each separation. Each newly formed branch of piping may include a throttle regulation element with which the volume of the required flow of lubrication mist can be adjusted.
