摘要 |
A two-stage, hydro-pneumatic actuator suitable for use as a railway vehicle brake. The hydraulic cylinder comprises a large diameter bore in which a low- and a high-pressure piston operate jointly during a first stage of operation to effect a high volumetric displacement of hydraulic fluid via a small diameter bore in order to take up the clearance between the brake shoes and wheel. As the brake shoes contact the wheel, the high-pressure piston enters the small bore to interrupt further displacement of hydraulic fluid from the large bore. The force of the high-pressure piston alone during this second stage of operation produces the required brake forces with a high multiplication factor. Make-up fluid is drawn into a chamber on the backside of the low-pressure piston during a brake application stroke an amount corresponding to the over-travel of the high-pressure piston and is subsequently discharged into the hydraulic cylinder during retraction of the brakes to compensate for brake shoe wear. Following brake shoe replacement, a pressure relief valve back dumps excess hydraulic fluid from the large diameter bore to the reservoir when the brake shoes engage the wheels prior to the high-pressure piston entering the small diameter bore.
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