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DSP wins Railway’s appreciation for developing High-power loco wheels

New Delhi September 25, 2006

Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has won the appreciation of the Indian Railways for developing and starting supplies of special 'S'-shaped loco wheels six months in advance of planned despatch. While stating that the "Railways required this item very urgently" to keep its "EMD fleet running", the Railways' Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) at Varanasi has acknowledged the "painstaking efforts undertaken" by the collective of DSP's Wheel & Axle Plant to satisfy their customer's requirements.

In May 2006, the Railways had asked SAIL to take up the challenge of manufacturing 120 'S'-shaped wheels with 208 mm bore dia to suit diesel electric locomotives (EMD) of 4,000 horsepower. The plan under which DSP was scheduled to start supplies from March 2007 had to be quickened due to the Railways' urgent need to pre-pone the deliveries, leading to supplies starting on 13 th September 2006 itself.

The 'S'-shaped web plate heat resistant high axle load rolled wheel for broad-gauge locomotives is capable of withstanding higher brake heat loads and heavy axle loads. Finite element analysis of the S-profile wheel has shown that it gives almost 50% less thermal stress and up to 15% less mechanical stress compared to the straight plate wheels of 3,000 horsepower used in existing locos. The new design will permit an additional 3-5 months wheel-life for locos.

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