In 2009, the average lifespan of a Japanese male was 79.6 years and that of a female was 86.4 years. This was the highest in the world; about 60 years ago, the average in the Japanese population was approximately 50 years. It is thus apparent that Japan has rapidly been becoming an aged society. In 2010 there were 29,440,000 individuals age 65 or older; this number will increase steadily, and i...

Physiological changes taking place on the locomotive apparatus as a result of aging, such as muscular mass loss, body balance loss, reduced bone mass and osteoarthrosis cause limitations to the daily activities of elderly people, compromising their quality of life and making them weaker and dependent. Aged people who regularly practice physical activities have a higher level of functional indep...

Base on the characteristics of high-speed and heavy-load locomotive traction gear, a pre-grinding hob was designed which increased the thickness of the dangerous tooth root section as much as possible. The deformation and stress of the traction gears were calculated through the parameterized model established by finite element method. The tooth profile modification was implemented considering t...

Electric arcing due to contact interruption between the pantograph and overhead line in electrified railway networks is an important unwanted phenomenon. Arcing events are short-term power quality disturbances that produce significant electromagnetic both conducted radiated as well increased degradation on wire strip of pantograph. Early-stage detection can prevent further deterioration current...

in today's design, system complexity and increasing demand for safer, more efficient and less costly systems have created new challenges in science and engineering. locomotives are products which are designed according to market order and technical needs of customers. accordingly, targets of companies, especially designers and manufacturers of locomotives, have always been on the path of progre...