Pneumatic system components for a city bus

[Karolis]

Hello,
I am currently working on pneumatic system (pneumatic suspension + pneumatic brake) design of a conceptual full electric city bus. I need to select the right components and create an efficient layout for the full pneumatic system. Maybe someone can provide any information:
1. Calculations of pneumatic brakes and pneumatic suspension;
2. Good suppliers in preferably located in Europe;
3. Maybe there are some programs that are a must for modeling a pneumatic system.
Thanks in advance

 

[IRstuff]

Is this for school? Student posting is prohibited

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[BrianPetersen]

Air brakes? Sure about that?

Air brakes in this part of the world require a special certification on a driver's license, and are standard practice on heavy trucks, but as far as I know, buses use hydraulic brakes. (If they're using air brakes, they're sure quiet.) I wouldn't think bus drivers would have the air-brake certification as standard practice. I could be wrong.

There are companies out there that already build ALL of the parts you are looking for. Don't build what you can buy off the shelf.

 

[Karolis]

IRstuff No it's not for a school project, it's a real thing.

BrianPetersen Thanks for an advice, maybe you can list some of the better ones ?

Although i still need some information sources as i need to become a specialist of this particular sphere.

 

[BrianPetersen]

For air suspension component suppliers, Google is your friend. You can do it as well as I can. (Hint: "bus air suspension" will turn up useful links for you.)

I would carefully consider whether you want your potential customers to force all their drivers to have air-brake certification on their driver's licenses. Google also reveals that buses can have either air brakes or hydraulic brakes (but all of them around here DON'T make the familiar noises that air-brake systems make ...). This is not really surprising, because truck and bus manufacturers all buy their parts from the same group of suppliers and the various axles, wheels, etc have some level of standardisation applied to them.

These suppliers all have local distributors and sales representatives ... pick up the phone.

 

[Karolis]

BrianPetersen: I really appreciate your concerns, and your willingness to help me out.
I am googling for about 2 weeks now The reason i asked for specific suppliers is that if someone could recommend ones they had worked with already. The pneumatic brakes were already been approved by my boss before i even started to work on this project, so there is nothing i can do about it. Also in our city's bus park almost all of the buses are using air brakes and no one have any problems with it I am not going to develop full pneumatic system on my own, but when i talk to suppliers i want to have as deep knowledge as i can achieve in a time i have. I think it would be good (also i find it very interesting and challenging) to understand basic principles of those specific automotive valves and i am guaranteed that they will ask some specific parameters of the pneumatic system which need to be calculated.

So if you can't list me some useful information sources which have helped yourself in designing such a system, please don't bother to answer

 

[BrianPetersen]

Why don't you go to your motor vehicle licensing bureau and inquire about getting your air-brake certification on your own driver's license?

Around here, that process involves taking a course in which you will get real life hands-on experience with the various bits and pieces involved in these systems!

And if you get to the point of building a prototype vehicle, you'll need that certification in order to test-drive it ... (that's true in this part of the world, don't know about yours)

 

[Karolis]

Okey. Just for you BrianPetersen i did a little research Wrote an inquiry as you suggested Then i sent it i realized i know a man who has got D category license (for bus driving). Asked him if he had to take any special courses about pneumatic braking or so. He replied that he didn't do any of that. Now waiting for a reply from my vehicle licensing bureau, i think they'll only approve that there is no need to take any additional courses. So no, in here there is no need for a special certificate for driving a vehicle with pneumatic brakes

 

[dgallup]

I think there may be a "disconect" here between the licensing requirements for a tractor-trailer driver and someone driving a straight truck or bus. The tractor-trailer driver has to know how to properly connect and disconnect the air brake system to the trailer when he hooks it up or drops it. The driver of a straight truck or bus does not have to deal with that.

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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

 

[BrianPetersen]

Still need an air-brake endorsement (in my area - Ontario, Canada) for any vehicle that has air brakes.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/driver/air-brake-endorsement.shtml

It appears that a similar endorsement is required in every Canadian province. But all the links I can find pertain only to Canadian provinces, so perhaps this isn't also true in the USA (or wherever the original poster is), which might explain why their city buses have air brakes and ours (for the most part, as far as I can tell) do not.

 

[EdStainless]

It varies by jurisdiction in the US. Interstate always requires it (Fed rules) for any air brake vehicle. Within states it depends on the state and vehicle type.

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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[truckandbus]

Bendix provides a very nice air brake handbook. Hendrickson or Neway would have literature on suspensions

Electric bus would need to blend regenerative braking over air - your propulsion supplier should be able to help

 

[3DDave]

Don't forget WABCO - descended from the company that created the concept.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westinghouse_Air_Brake_Company

 

[LionelHutz]

In Ontario, the air-brake endorsement is simple to get. It's not even worth the hand writhing going on in this thread or dragging the thread off-course. Around here, any school bus driver or coach motorhome owner has it. You write a simple test and slide under the vehicle once to show you know how to inspect the brakes and you have it for life.