Modular Outdoor Cabinets - Reliably Protecting Outdoor Railway Applications
nVent SCHROFF has redesigned the Outdoor Modular Cabinet and equipped it with functional improvements. In addition to meeting the relevant international standards and norms, the nVent SCHROFF Outdoor Modular Cabinet also complies with relevant railway certification. The cabinet provides reliable protection against environmental conditions such as heat, cold, wind, moisture, dust and risks including shocks and vibrations as
well as intrusion and vandalism for electronics installed in outdoor trackside railway applications (e.g. at stations, signal boxes and level crossings). This increases the security and reliability of the applications, extends the product life cycle and reduces overall operating costs.
To ensure an optimal operating temperature range in the cabinet, different options can be realized with the nVent SCHROFF Outdoor Modular Cabinet. Its double-walled design alone can dissipate a thermal output of up to 24 watts. The standard outdoor modular cabinet for railway applications is equipped with active cooling by way of a fan kit. Two integrated 24 V DC fans in the top of the cabinet draw cold air through the doors and blow heated air out through the outer roof provide for a heat transfer coefficient of 160 W/K and an air flow capacity of 540 m³/h. It is also possible to equip the cabinet with air-conditioning units.
The aluminum profile frame and double-walled design of the cabinet offers rigid structural stability with a static load of 400 kg. The particularly robust design is further realized by corner blocs integrated in the cabinet frame and by aluminum profile hinges for the doors. The cabinet has passed all relevant shock and vibration, wind as well as seismic tests with very good values.
To ensure protection against penetrating liquids as a result of rain or snow or dirt/contamination, the outdoor cabinet is now equipped with all-round form-in-place gaskets. On the cabinet doors, this sealing effect is realized using removable clip-on gaskets. For easier maintenance when replacing the outer covers, the installed components are still protected by the gaskets on the inner wall.
An earthing kit with central earthing point provides the necessary equipotential bonding. Sufficient EMC protection is ensured by the inner panels, which fully line the aluminum frame. This protection can be extended as an option.
The high level of robustness and stability of the SCHROFF modular outdoor cabinet protects against vandalism and unauthorized access, while the newly designed panels, hinges and locks further increase this protection. The outer panels comprise 1.5 mm thick, zinc-magnesium-coated steel, and are additionally powder coated on the outside. The inner panels comprise 1 mm thick aluminum sheet metal. All wall screws are vandalism-proof and can only be accessed from inside the cabinet. The top cover, side panels and base plinth covers can only be removed when the doors are unlocked.
The SCHROFF outdoor cabinet is very versatile and can be adapted to suit individual requirements. This is facilitated by the scalability of the cabinet’s design as well as by the wide selection of 19-inch accessories. The cabinet is adjustable in width from 700 to 2,000 mm, in height from 1,000 to 2,100 mm and in depth from 500 to 1,200 mm in 50 mm increments. The design allows access to the inside of the cabinet from all sides so that installation, maintenance and repair work on the installed components can be easily carried out.
nVent also offers the option of integrating various components as a service. Batteries, rectifiers, converters and UPS systems are likewise integrated as are the requisite cabling, components for environmental monitoring (EMX), control panels and redundant cooling. In addition, nVent assists its customers with testing and simulations in its own laboratories to ensure that the requirements placed on the cabinet are fulfilled.