IRELAND: Voith is delivering 70 sets of aluminium fairings it has custom designed to replace glass fibre reinforced plastic components on the front ends of Iarnród Éireann’s Hyundai Rotem Class 22000 inter-city diesel multiple-units.
The GFRP fairings were designed to protect the train from bottles, stones or other foreign bodies swirled up from the track, but experience showed they were not sufficiently robust or easy to repair.
Voith’s replacement fairing is made from 2·5 mm pressed aluminium and attached using a steel auxiliary frame. The design was prepared in 3D CAD taking into account the weight specifications and then optimised by finite element analysis, with verification by IÉ and an independent body.
Shims, slots and rubber elements are used to accommodate differing car tolerances. The multi-part design means areas with slight damage can be removed for welding or replacement. The door lock uses a standard key, and there is a replaceable dirt grid for the horns.
