Freight-type air distributor test bench

The bench is designed for testing freight-type air distributors after repair in the air brake section of a depot. The main and brake pipe portions are tested as an assembly: charging, sensitivity to application and release, brake cylinder filling and release times, tightness, operation in flat and mountain modes and under different load settings.

The valve is mounted on a receiving flange with a pneumatic clamp that reproduces the mating face of the two-chamber reservoir. The pneumatic circuit of the bench, with simulators of the brake pipe, auxiliary reservoir and brake cylinder, produces the pressure reduction and rise rates corresponding to service and emergency braking. Electronic pressure sensors feed their readings to a controller that compares the results with the tolerances and issues a pass or fail verdict.

The bench is built as a console desk with an integrated pneumatic panel, electro-pneumatic valves, a receiver and an air preparation unit. The operator works through a touch panel; the test program is selected by valve type. Results are stored in the bench database and printed as a test report or transferred to the depot network. On request the bench is supplemented with adapters for load-sensing valves and relay valves.