Adaptation of a traction DC power system for high-speed traffic

Abstract

Ways to develop and improve traction power-supply systems and adapt them for high-speed highways are considered. One way to improve a traction power-supply system and make it more efficient is to increase the nominal voltage in the dc traction network up to 24 kV. This allows one to increase the throughput and carrying capacities of railways, increase the distance between substations, reduce the cross section of traction-network wires, and significantly reduce power losses in power-supply facilities. All this, alongside the absence of unbalanced supply voltage and inductive losses, as well as a significantly lower electromagnetic action on the infrastructure under dc conditions, results in a greater efficiency than in the case of any alternating- current traction power systems of alternating current. A mathematical model of dynamic electromagnetic processes in electrical circuits with semiconductor converters is fleshed out. Analysis and synthesis of electromagnetic processes and the main characteristics of multipulse converters, as well as a comprehensive technical and economic comparison, shows that 24-pulse rectifying circuits with a serial connection of threephase bridge are most efficient for these systems. These rectifiers provide an improvement in the quality of electrical energy not only for the primary power-supply system, but also for the traction network. They allow one to use simpler and more economical active-passive smoothing filters that provide the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of a new traction dc power system with the communication and railway automation facilities. In addition, the use of 24-pulse rectifiers can allow one to significantly reduce the consumption of reactive energy, reduce power losses in a traction network, and increase the efficiency of traction substations.