Last week we told you about how the cable car works, but today we will talk about another type of cable car - the rail. Vehiclesthat carry passengers or goods on them are called funiculars. For the first time using the funicular as passenger transport was proposed in 1825, and almost 30 years later the idea was implemented simultaneously in the Italian city of Genoa and the Austrian city of Sommering. Today there are about 400 cable cars in the world. Most of them are located in the USA and Switzerland. How does the rail cable car work - more on that in today's issue!
There are two main types of funiculars: one-car and two-car. The principle of operation of the first of them is quite simple: an engine located at the top of the cable car alternately raises and lowers the carriage using a rope. On some roads, the operator controls the movement using a mechanical grip. The gripper compresses the rope, which moves in a special groove under the surface. In order to stop the carriage, the operator only needs to release the gripper. At the same time, the rope continues to move non-stop.
The most common type of funicular is with two non-motorized carriages. They are rigidly connected by a rope thrown over a pulley. The pulley itself and the motor that turns it are also located at the top station of the funicular. The engine drives the rope laid between the support rails, at the ends of which the cars are fixed. Thus, they always move and stop at the same time, and disperse exactly in the middle of the line. Such a scheme is the most economical: energy is spent not on lifting and lowering the cars, but actually on moving the difference in weight between two cars loaded in different ways by passengers, as well as on overcoming the friction force and braking. It should be noted that the movement of the rope moving the cars is reversible. Its direction changes whenever a carriage or carriages reach the end of the line.
If a two-car cable car has only one pair of rails, then a two-track section is made in the middle of the route so that oncoming cars can separate. Cars on these roads have different wheels on opposite sides. The left side has a double flange rim and the right side has a smooth rim. When approaching the siding, the double-flanged wheels force the car to always switch to the left track.
If a rope bursts or its tension is weakened on the cable car, a spring is automatically triggered, compressing the rail with wedges on both sides. In the event of an accident, this prevents the possibility of uncontrolled rolling off the mountain.
Funicular trails are usually kept fairly short — typically a few hundred meters — with a steep incline of up to 35 degrees. The slope of the cable car is usually constant, but sometimes varies slightly in different sections. Funicular cars are designed individually for each route, taking into account its steepness. At the same time, the cable car lines never form a network, do not fork or intersect.
In 1834, German engineer Albert Vogts invented a metal rope - from steel wires intertwined with each other. And three decades later, in the north of Switzerland near Schaffhausen, the world's first cable car for the transport of passengers appeared. With its help, tourists climbed to the observation deck. How does a modern cable car work?
There are two types of cable cars: one-cable and two-cable. Characteristic feature of the first type of cableways is that the functions of the load-bearing and traction element are performed by one steel rope, closed in a ring. The rope itself consists of wires twisted in strands around a rigid core. The cabins perform in a circular motion, being suspended from a continuously moving rope using special detachable clamps. Upon arrival at the station, the cabins are disconnected from the rope, transferred to the station overhead conveyor and moved along rigid rail tracks using traveling wheels. In this case, the speed of the cabin is reduced to 0.3 m / s. The doors open automatically and passengers exit the cab. Then the trolley continues to move on the station conveyor to the other side of the station, passengers enter the cab, the doors close automatically, the conveyor accelerates the cab to the speed of the rope, and when it leaves the rail track, it again engages with the clamping device. The rope itself is driven by a friction drive with a traction sheave.
Two-cable ropeways are more common nowadays. The cabins of such a cable car hang on a flexible carrying rope and move along it like a rail with the help of roller wheels located on the roof. The carrying rope connects the upper and lower stations of the road and rests on special masts. The second rope is traction. The booths are attached to it and serve as a support for it. However, with a large distance between the cabins, the rope sag can be significant, therefore, special supporting rollers are installed on the supports. The drive drives the traction rope and the cabins move in the desired direction.
The road is controlled centrally from the dispatching console. Each cable car is equipped with an anti-collision system that monitors the distance between the cabins and prevents them from colliding with each other. Some cable cars are also equipped with a wind system, which slows down the speed of the cabins in strong winds and informs the staff of the cable car. To prevent the rope from jumping off the rollers, each support has special sensors and traps next to the rollers that will prevent the rope from falling.
The carrying capacity of the passenger cable car can reach 2000 people per hour. And the angle of elevation of the cable car can reach up to 50 degrees. The longest cable car in the world, 96 kilometers, existed in Sweden. It was used to deliver iron ore from Lapland to the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. Its 13.2-kilometer section has been converted into the world's longest passenger cable car.
It is unlikely that alpine skiing would have become so widespread if you had to climb the mountain on foot. Since the first lifts appeared, their design has been constantly improved, and the cable cars themselves have become more comfortable and safe. the site visited the Rosa Khutor ski resort, where Alexey Petrovich Tretyakov, deputy head of the cable car service, gave us an excursion, and talked about how a modern lift is arranged, using the example of the Olympia cable car, which lifts guests of the resort to Rose Plateau (1170 meters above sea level).
"Olympia" is a gondola-type cable car, consisting of two stations - the upper (drive), where the engine and backup generator are located, and the lower (bypass) station. First, we climbed inside the drive station. Personally, I've always been curious about what's inside.
For those interested in the details of the cable car's work, please see cat.
The video shows the operation of the mechanism that uncouples the cab from the rope and slows down the cab. At 0:50 the moment when the car enters the station is shown in slow motion.
At (1:09) the same moment, but already at the maximum speed (6 m / s). When the cab at full speed flies into the station, a special lever with a roller hits the guides (red inclined rails) and goes down, respectively, the clamp rises and gradually releases the cable.
The first wheels (in the video with black tires), which press the cab suspension system, spin at the speed of the cable. On the 7th wheel, the clamp is completely unhooked (1:14), and the cab no longer moves with the help of a rope, but with the help of a conveyor of wheels. Pulleys are fixed on each wheel (1:07), and with the help of a reduction belt drive, each next wheel spins a little slower than the previous one, gradually extinguishing the cab speed to the minimum (1:27). In this case, the rope continues to rotate at the same speed (at the exit from the station, on the contrary, on each wheel the speed increases to the speed of the rope).
Each cable car is also equipped with an anti-collision system to prevent the cabins from colliding with each other. In the video at 1:29, you can see how the sensor that tracks the location of the booths lights up, it sends signals to the computer by which the distance between the booths is controlled.
Sensors that monitor rope clamping. The red plate bends upward as the car clamp passes under it, and two independent sensors record the rope clamping force.
Clamping sensors
The readings from the sensors go to the computer, which will immediately stop the ropeway if the car clamp is not firmly grasped the rope. In the photo below, just the computer screen on which you can see the readings of the sensors and the threshold values \u200b\u200bat which the personnel are alerted and the cable car is automatically stopped. If this happens, the driver will hand over the cabins in reverse, will drop people off and check the mechanism. If the car is clamped to a normal value, then the work will continue, if it is again in an emergency, then the car is driven into the repair box, and it will be carefully checked. In any case, the computer will not release the booth with a weak clamp on the line.
How the doors at the booth open, in principle, and so you can see, the system is the same - inclined guides, into which the lever with the roller enters, the lever rises, and the doors are opened using a hydraulic mechanism. When leaving the station, the guides lower the lever.
Then we went to the room where the cable car operators work. Workplace The operator is located behind a large window through which the landing and landing site is visible and is equipped with a computer, duplicated means of communication with other cable car stations (wireless walkie-talkie and a wired telephone), and a cable car hydraulic brake lever (red thing on the right in the photo).
There are several large equipment cabinets behind the operator.
Buttons for planned (smooth) stop and emergency (abrupt) stop of the cable car engine, as well as other buttons
Touchscreen of the computer operating the cable car
Inside the cabinet
The cable car control system is equipped with a modem, and upon request ski resortif problems arise, the manufacturer (Doppelmayer) can connect and remotely observe the operation of all system nodes. Alexey Petrovich also said that every year all cable cars pass mandatory check - the cabins are loaded with sandbags, carry out load tests and test the ropeway in the most severe conditions. The rope itself also undergoes regular inspection, which includes a test called magnetic flaw detection, which is similar to an X-ray. This process looks for damage, deformation and broken wires, as well as checking the rope for an increase or decrease in diameter. Particular attention is paid to checking the link, this is the place where the rope is connected, in other words, it is the knot that connects the ends of the rope, which makes it a single ring. But this is a different story that requires a separate story.
So that during a visit to the resort you will not be faced with the fact that the cable cars are closed.
In order to better see the structure of the supports, we drove in an open technological cabin.
On some supports of the cable car, a wind system is installed, with a wind of 15 m / s it will slow down the speed of the cabins to 1.5 m / s and inform the cable car personnel about this by sound signaling and indication on the control panel. And when the wind speed rises to 17 m / s, the speed of the cabins will decrease to the minimum - 0.3 m / s. Maximum speed roads 6 meters per second.
Support with wind system
To prevent the rope from jumping off the rollers, there are sensors on each support that record this situation, and traps next to the rollers that will prevent the rope from falling.
Pole trap
On negative supports (where the cable runs under the rollers), the traps are accordingly also inverted.
Negative support
Cable car Olympia differs from the rest of the cable cars in Krasnaya Polyana in that one of its sections runs over the gorge at an altitude of 126 meters. A very beautiful view opens up from here. In winter, I sometimes had to go in the same booth with newcomers, who were a little panicked on this site. Like, if the electricity is cut off, how will they take us out of here? I'm in in general terms I knew that they would be filming somehow, but I only found out how exactly now - at the extreme supports on both sides of the gorge there are winches with a cable. If necessary, the rescuer climbs the support, on a suspended bike rides along the rope to the cabin that is hanging over the gorge, special device loosens the cab clamp by 2 millimeters so that it can slide along the rope, hooks the winch cable to the cab and pulls the cab to the lift support, from where it is already quite easy to remove people. As you can see, there is absolutely no reason for concern.
For a photographer, of course, it is much more convenient to ride in an open booth, nothing blocks the excellent view from the lift :-)
Below, at the bypass station, everything is about the same, only without an emergency drive. To the left of the landing zone there is a garage for cabins (when there are not many guests at the resort, in order not to overload the cable car, some of the cabins are removed and driven here). For example, in winter there are a maximum of 77 booths on the line, and today only half - 38. Booths are being repaired here.
Garage
This is how it is, the cable car.
In a number of cases, with highly rugged or densely built-up areas, cable cars are used to deliver raw materials from open pits to factories (Fig. 174).
Cableways are divided by:
1) according to the number of ropes for: a) single-ropes, in which the same rope is carrying and traction; b) two-rope, when one kayat is a carrier, and the other is traction;
2) by the nature of the movement of trolleys: a) with a ring. the movement of trolleys; b) with the pendulum movement of trolleys.
The ropeway schemes have much in common with the ropeway haulage schemes on the rail tracks. So, for example, the roads with circular traffic are similar (but the scheme) to the haulage with an endless rope, and the roads with the pendulum movement are similar to haulage with the endless rope.
The main difference between ropeway and suspendedCableways means that in the latter, trolleys move along a flexible rail track (rope), suspendedNomu at a certain height on the supports.
At the factories of building materials, the most widespread are two-rope double-track roads with a closed circular movement of trolleys. The main parts of the canatio are suspension road (Fig. 174) are: loading station, line of movement, unloading station, rolling stock - trolleys and a traction rope drive.
Loading station includes 1 receiving hopper, loading device for trolleys, rigid rail circular freeway 2, end pulley for traction rope 3 (depending on
Depending on road conditions), a switch and a switch for connecting and disconnecting the traction rope to the trolleys. The movement line has supports 4, carrying ropes 5, traction rope 6. The unloading station includes a rail siding 7, receiving bins or an open receiving platform and a drive winch 8.
On the line of movement, the supporting ropes are placed on metal supports.
Loaded trolleys go along one of the ropes, and empty trolleys along the second. The distance between the ropes on the supports is 2.5-3.0 m. At one end, the carrying ropes are anchored in a special foundation; 9, and on the other - they pull with weights 10.
Carrying ropes (Fig. 175) for overhead roads are made of closed type from shaped wires with a layer of wedge-shaped wires (GOST 7675-55) and ropes in accordance with GOST 3090-55 without a layer of wedge-shaped wires.
The use of free hanging weights ensures constant tension on the ropes. With changes in the load, only the sag of the ropes changes, and the tension remains constant.
Parallel lay ropes with linear contact with wires, as well as non-twisting ropes are used as traction ropes.
The trolleys are attached to the traction rope and serve as a support for it. However, with a large distance between the trolleys, the sag of the rope can be significant, therefore, support rollers are installed on the supports.
Trolleys of typical aerial ropeways are made with a tipping body on two or four wheels, each pair
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Figure: 175. Types of supporting ropes: A - closed; b - open |
Which forms the bogie, the main parameters of the trolleys are taken in accordance with GOST 10353-63.
A two-wheeled trolley allows a bogie load of up to 1 ton, a four-wheel trolley - up to 3.2 tn. It should be borne in mind that the load on the bogie includes the own weight of the bogie and the weight of the traction rope attached to it, therefore, when calculating the payload of the car, the indicated loads must be taken into account. For pendulum caiate-suspended roads, the carrying capacity of trolleys can be taken higher.
The main parts of the trolley (fig. 176, b and in) are. undercarriage, suspension, body, clamping device (lock).
The body is held against overturning by lever 1. The axis of rotation of the body is displaced relative to its center axis by 20-25 mm, As a result, when the lever runs onto the fixed stop installed at the unloading point, the lever leans back and the body overturns.
Body in working position returned manually or by means of a counterweight, the location and weight of which are chosen in such a way that, when the trolley is loaded, the tilting momentThere was more restoring, and when empty, less. 302
In four-wheeled trolleys, each bogie is pivotally fixed to a frame and has the ability to self-align, thereby achieving an even load distribution on all wheels.
The clamping device, used to connect the trolley to the traction rope, is a hinged pliers
(rice, 176, i) with two cheeks - motionless 2 and mobile 3, Having a lever 4. The movable cheek is welded to the frame of the trolley 5. The lever of the movable cheek is connected to the rod 6, and at the upper end of which the axis 7 with two rollers 8 , and the frame is suspended on the bottom 9 Trolleys. When the trolley rolls 8 runs onto special rails 10 (fig. 176, a), the pliers are opened, and the kayat is released when the rollers run off the rails. The weight of the trolley frame and body is transferred through the pull to the lever and the rope is clamped.
As a drive of the traction rope, winches with pulleys of a horizontal or vertical type with one
Or with two trench grooves and opposing pulley, as well as winches with equalizing drives. In the latter case, the driving pulleys are single-grooved friction pulleys, interconnected by differentials, which makes it possible for each pulley to rotate with a different angular velocity and avoid slipping of the rope in case of uneven wear of the lining. Sometimes, drive winches of increased strength are used, in which an increase in the adhesion of the rope to the pulleys is achieved by using special clamps.
The winch drive is geared. The winches can operate both in motor and braking mode (when lowering the load from top to bottom). In the latter case, the engine, rotating at a super-synchrope speed, works as a generator.
To stop the winch when the normal speed of the trolleys is exceeded, centrifugal switches are installed.
Accurate and trouble-free operation of the cable car is achieved by strict observance of the operating rules and timely implementation of the entire complex of scheduled preventive maintenance, as well as by equipping the road with control, signaling and communication devices.
The road is controlled centrally from the dispatcher's control panel.
At each station, an alarm relay is installed in the switch panel, and limit switches and emergency stop buttons are installed in the galleries near the carriage pulleys. When you press one of the buttons emergency service or closing of any of the limit switches, all alarm relays are activated. The normally closed contacts open, the motor is switched off and the brake is applied. Normally open contacts, on the contrary, close and turn on the loud banging bell in the machine room and signal lamps, as well as a loud battle ringing in the gallery. Communication between stations is carried out by telephone and also by radio.
The operating mode of the cable car is regulated by special operating rules, and the work of the service personnel - by the appropriate job descriptions... During the operation of the road, documentation is systematically maintained, which reflects all the work of the road and its main indicators.
When the speed of movement and the carrying capacity of the trolley are selected, a road map is drawn up in accordance with the plan and profile and the traction calculation is performed.
The most universal method of calculation is in this case the "Bypass method" or, as it is also called "Method of calculation by points", which has already been used to calculate conveyors. To do this, the entire road contour in the plan is divided into curvilinear and straight sections. If the rectilinear 301 sections have a different slope, then they are further subdivided into parts and for each section the resistances are calculated separately, and then all the resistances are summed up.
The cable car is a means of transportation that has already become familiar to Nizhny Novgorod residents. It was created in 2012 to cross the Volga River to the Bor of Nizhny Novgorod. Despite the routine of the "cable car" for Nizhny Novgorod residents, it is of great tourist and cultural importance for the city; almost every tourist who comes to Nizhny with an excursion strives to visit it.
The length of the road is 3661 meters, 28 cabins are used to transport passengers.
The schedule of the cable car in Nizhny Novgorod in 2019
"Kanatka" operates in two modes - in winter (from October 1 to April 30) and summer (from May 1 to September 30). The schedule for summer 2018 is as follows:
- Monday Thursday: from 06:45 to 22:00 (technical break from 10:45 to 13:00).
- Friday Sunday, public holidays: from 09:00 to 22:00.
All changes in the operating mode of the cable car, as a rule, are reported on the official website of the facility.
History
The need for a cable car between Nizhniy and Bor reminded of itself for quite a long time, and at the end of 2007, the Poma company from France created an ambitious project of the current cable car.
2 years after the presentation of the project, preparations for assembly started - foreign builders had to make metal supports weighing more than 60 tons and a height of 7 to 82 meters. By the end of 2010, all parts were manufactured and delivered to Nizhny Novgorod, immediately after that construction began.
The first and test run of the cable car in Nizhny took place in early 2012, and one of its first passengers were local officials and the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region.
In February of the same year, the "cable car" opened its doors to passengers and began to work as usual - to transport passengers from one bank of the Volga to the other.
Operation of the cable car
Bor is one of the largest regional centers of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The distance between it and the city itself is about 4 kilometers. Before the construction of the cable car, the residents of Nizhny Novgorod had the opportunity to overcome this distance only by going around it over the bridge - because of this, it increased to 27 kilometers. Now the townspeople manage to save time, getting to work using the cable car; about 500 passengers move from one bank of the Volga to the other in an hour.
However, do not forget that the cable car in Nizhny Novgorod is also a kind of curiosity for tourists - each of them has the opportunity to admire the beautiful views of the Volga and its banks from a stunning high altitude. In order to get from Nizhny Novgorod to Bor, passengers sit in comfortable and equipped cabins. They are equipped with seating areas and windows for full review natural beauty. The travel time is a little over 12 minutes, the trailer moves at a speed of about 20 kilometers per hour.
From the cabin window you can see the Pechersky Monastery, dense green thickets on the banks of the Volga, and also admire its rapid current.
The fare for the cable car in Nizhny Novgorod
One way fare is 100 rubles. In other words, a tourist who plans to get from Nizhny Novgorod to Bor, and then return back to the starting point, will need to pay 200 rubles.
Also, for regular passengers of the cable car, who daily need to cross the Volga, there are tickets for 10, 20, 30 and 48 trips at a price of 820 to 3550 rubles. For students living and studying in Nizhny Novgorod and the region, there is a preferential program, according to which these subscriptions can be purchased almost two times cheaper. FROM detailed descriptions current prices can be found on the official website of the facility.
Safety
The zones for embarking and disembarking passengers on the cable car in Nizhny Novgorod always operate in the mode increased security - they are obstructed, and the doors work with an automatic mechanism. As you begin to enter the cab, it slows down, allowing you to quietly enter and sit down more comfortably. The distance between the embarkation / disembarkation platform and the booth itself is minimal. Despite the fact that the height at which the cabins are located during the trip is quite impressive, you should not be afraid. Inside the trailer there are small stands with information about the rules of behavior inside. It is also planned to equip the cabins with means of communication with the coast guard in the future.
How to get to the cable car in Nizhny Novgorod
The platform for boarding the cable car is located almost in the city center, just a few bus stops from the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. You can get to it from almost anywhere in the city using public transport... You will need to get off at the Sennaya stop on the street. Maxim Gorky or Bolshaya Pecherskaya, or at the "Sennaya Auto Station". The shortest way will be from Bolshaya Pecherskaya Street, just move up towards the Volga along Sechenov Street. The entrance to the cable car will be right after the Nizhny Novgorod Cathedral Mosque, on the right. You can get to the point of boarding the cable car in Nizhny Novgorod using local taxi services - Uber or Yandex. Taxi.
Cable car in Nizhny Novgorod on video
